The Black Swordsman and The Gray Huntsman
by TravyMcNavy184
Summary: Kirito and Yuga, twin brothers in game and IRL, were a couple of Beta Testers for the newest VRMMORPG, Sword Art Online. On the day the game launched, they and 10,000 players became trapped in a game where the punishment for losing is death. Now the brothers must fight to escape the game and get back to reality. Will they succeed or die trying? Find out here.
1. Prologue

**Hello everyone, TravyMcNavy184 here with a new story. This is going to be a Sword Art Online story. I have read a few SAO fanfics so I figured I would try my luck and make a story for SAO as well. This story was inspired by Dual Swordsmen: Link Start by Last Step, Before going any further, I would like to thank Last Step, primarily the first half (A.S.W) who made up the author who started this story and the other half who gave me the opportunity to continue where they left, and I can only hope that is a story worthy to carry on their legacy. I'm not really sure how adopting stories works so I just decided to start from the beginning. If that isn't how it is done, then I'll pick up where Last Step left off. Anyway, this fanfic will feature an oc who is a twin brother to the protagonist Kazuto Kirigaya aka Kirito. The boy's name is Yusukue Kirigaya and will go by the handle Yuga. The story will follow mostly the anime with some of Yuga's own adventures as he and his brother try to escape SAO. Like I said this is my first SAO fanfic so let me know what you guys think. So without further ado, read and enjoy. As always, I own nothing but ocs.**

The Black Swordsman and The Gray Huntsman

Prologue

In the year 2022, mankind finally managed to revolutionize the gaming industry by bringing a true virtual world experience to life. In one particular city in Japan, people were lining around the corner to purchase the worlds very first VRMMORPG, Sword Art Online, or SAO for short. In the suburbs of an unsuspecting house, in a large bedroom sat two boys around the age of 14. One boy sat at his computer desk with his headphones on and a gaming magazine in his hands. The boy had spiky black hair and black eyes. He wore a gray hoodie with black sweat pants. On one of the beds, sat a boy with the same features as the other, only this boy's hair was straight and longer as it nearly shadowed his eyes. This boy wore a black graphic t-shirt with blue jean shorts. He sat on his bed as her was fiddling with what looked like a helmet. These two boys were Kazuto and Yusuke Kirigaya respectively. They are twin brothers both born on October 7, 2008. Of the two, Kazuto was the older twin by seven minutes.

These two boys were two of the 10,000 players who not only managed to get their hands on a copy of Sword Art Online, they were also beta testers who got to play the game before it even came out. Right now they were just finding ways of killing time before the game could officially launch. While they were doing their thing, they heard a knock at their door, causing them to look up from what they were doing and at the door.

"Come in." Yusuke said.

The door opened and a girl about a year younger than the boys entered their room. She had short black hair with dark gray, almost black eyes. She wore a gray schoolgirl's uniform with a yellow bow. She also had a kendo bag over her shoulder. This girl was their sister, Suguha Kirigaya. Even though she was recognized as their sister, in reality she's their cousin.

"Hey Kazuto. Hey Yusuke. I'm off to kendo practice now." She said.

"Alright, good luck Sugu." Kazuto replied with a smile.

"You give 'em hell champ!" Yusuke said, raising a fist for emphasis.

Sugu chuckled at the younger twin's comment. "Love you guys, see you guys at dinner tonight. Have fun with your game." Sugu replied with a smile before she shut the door. With that, Suguaha left the house to attend kendo practice.

As the time to launch approached, the twins hooked up their Nerve Gear helmets, connected everything where it went, inserted the game, and readied themselves to play the game. Yusuke looked towards his brother, who was about to lie down on his bed and smirked. "So, you ready to rock and roll Kazuto?"

Kazuto smirked at his brother before answering. "When you are little bro."

With that, the twins lied down on their backs in their respective beds with their Nerve Gear helmets. As the clock struck 1:00 pm, the boys readied themselves for the moment of truth.

""Link Start!"" They shouted in unison and they were transported into the game.

After the helmet checked all vitals, the boys typed in their user information and were suddenly transported into a world straight out of Camelot. The boys spawned right next to each other and looked at each other and smiled widely. Kazuto's avatar looked just about the same as his IRL appearance, only his face looked more handsome, like the protagonist of a novel. He also wore a blue tunic with black pants with gray boots and a sword strapped to his back. Yusuke's also looked the same as his IRL appearance, but his had a black beard to match his hair. He sported a gray tunic with black pants and brown boots and an axe was strapped to his back.

Yusuke chuckled happily at his appearance. "Hello world, we are back! Wooooo." He shouted with glee.

Kazuto also chuckled. "Hell yeah! This is gonna be awesome Yusuke."

Yusuke just shot a glare at his brother. "Hey! It's Yuga while we're in here, remember." He hissed at his brother, who just sported an embarrassed look.

"Oh, right. Sorry, forgot that. Well in that case, address me as Kirito." He said with a smirk, which Yuga returned.

* * *

_First Floor-Starting Town_

Kirito and Yuga currently found themselves in a large marketplace along with many other players who logged into SAO for the first time. Everyone in the marketplace were either chatting with other players or browsing the many shops for items that many couldn't probably afford since they had little money. Kirito and Yuga were right now running through the marketplace. Kirito was ahead of his brother by a good length.

"Come on Kirito, slow down will you. I know you're excited but damn don't leave me behind." Yuga called out.

Kirito decided to egg his brother on. "What's wrong, Yuga? Having a hard time keeping up with your big brother?" Kirito asked mockingly, causing Yuga to gain a tick mark.

"Why don't you ask that after I leave you choking in my dust!" Yuga declared as he started to pick up speed.

While this was going on, a lone man saw the brothers racing each other. Thinking they knew what they were doing, he decided to follow them. As the brothers made a turn into an alley, the man called out to them.

"Hey, wait up guys." Kirito and Yuga stopped running and looked behind them to see who it was who addressed them. The voice belonged to a young man wearing basic armor and a white tunic with brown pants. He also had a scruffy appearance with long pink hair held in with a red bandanna. He finally caught up to the brothers, taking deep breathes from running to catch up to them.

"Uhh, hi there. Can we help you?" Yuga asked the stranger.

He let out a deep breath before he answered the younger twin. "Yeah actually. You two look like you know you're way around. By chance, were you guys in the Beta test?"

"Um, yeah, we were." Answered Kirito.

"Well cool. Today is my first day here, so I was wondering, if it's not too much trouble, you think you can give me some tips for the lower floors?"

"Yeah, I don't know if-" Kirito tried to say.

"Please I'm begging you." The stranger interrupted.

"Aw come on Kirito, what harm could it do to give him a few pointers." Suggested Yuga.

Kirito thought for a moment. "Welllll...alright, I guess it wouldn't hurt."

The stranger's face soon adopted a grateful smile. "Oh thank you both so much. You guys are freakin' awesome." He thanked wholeheartedly. "By the way, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Klein. Good to meet you." The stranger, now known as Klein introduced himself.

"My name is Kirito and this is Yuga." Kirito introduced him and his brother, who waved at him with a smile on his face.

Klein just looked at the twins questioningly. "Hey uh, is this some kind of bug or something? Aside from the gear and the beard on one of you, you two look almost exactly alike."

Kirito and Yuga just looked at each other for a moment before they looked back to Klein. ""Really? We don't see any similarities."" They both said in unison, shocking Klein.

B-b-b-b-b-" Klein was now babbling from the shock. He couldn't even form a sentence.

""Hey, you okay Klein?"" They both asked with their heads tilted. This caused Klein to fall on his ass in utter shock. Having had enough fun, the twins just laughed at him. "We're just messing with you Klein." Said Yuga.

"Yeah. Truth is Yuga and I are twin brothers in real life. We're sorry for scaring you, we just couldn't resist." Kirito said as Klein got back on his feet.

"Oh...well...that would probably explain a lot." He said chuckling awkwardly, still trying to digest what he was just told. "Well anyway, don't do that again man, I startle easily."

The twins just chuckled at him. "Alright, we won't." Said Yuga.

* * *

_1st Floor-Starting Town-West Field_

The three players were now in a field on the first floor. Kirito and Yuga were standing on the side while Klein dealt with a boar like creature, having little success as the creature knocked him on his ass while he clutched his groin area where he got hit. "AH! My nuts!" Klein exclaimed painfully.

"Come on, seriously?" Kirito asked annoyed with Yuga sporting the same expression.

"You realize you can't feel any pain, don't you Klein?" Said Yuga.

Klein then raised his head in realization as he really didn't feel any pain down there. "Oh, hey you're right. Hehe, sorry about that. Force of habit." He then found himself on his feet again.

"Wait, force of habit?" Inquired Kirito.

"You mean you've been hit in the nuts multiple times?" Asked Yuga with a raised eyebrow.

"Trust me guys, you don't want to know."

"Withdrawn then!" Exclaimed Yuga with a raised hand.

Kirito then shook his head as he went back to training Klein. "Remember what I said? The first move is the most important."

"Yeah, easy for you to say. This damn thing won't stand still." Klein said glaring at the boar.

Yuga picked up a stone and took a stance. "It's like this Klein, if you do your initial motion right and activate a sword skill at the right time..." Yuga then threw the stone at the boar, hitting square in it's butt, angering it and making it look at the three players. "Then the system pretty much guarantees you'll always hit your target.

"Initial...motion?" Klein asked, sounding like a student in a classroom who had no idea what the teacher was talking about.

"Here is an easier way to look at it." Kirito commented. "Right after you start your move, wait a little bit. When you feel the skill start to activate, drive it on home." While this was going on, Yuga was holding the boar back with his axe.

"Drive it on home?" Klein said questioningly as he raised his sword again. After a moment, it hit him. He got into a stance and readied himself, by then his sword started glowing yellow, indicating he was about to perform a sword skill. Yuga saw this and kicked the boar away, making it run towards Klein. As the Boar approached the newbie, Klein then thrust his sword and it made contact with the animal, causing it's health gauge to drop to zero and erupt into a thousands of polygons, singling it's death.

Klein smiled at his success and did a victory pose. "Hmhm, not bad newbie." Yuga complimented as he raised his hand to give him a high five, which Klein gave happily.

"I'll say, you did pretty good Klein." Kirito added as he raised his own hand, which Klein also high fived. "Don't let it go to your head though Klein, that boar is about as weak as slimes in other games are."

Klein's eyes widened at what the older twin said. "What? Seriously! I thought that thing was a mid level boss!" He exclaimed.

"Sorry dude, but they are." Added Yuga as he pointed at a nearby hill where more boars materialized in the field.

Klein took a couple more practice thrusts to get the handle of his skill. He seemed to be getting the hang of it. "Woah!"

The twins smiled at the sight. "Nifty little skill, isn't it." Asked Kirito.

"I'll say. So these skills, there's tons of them like blacksmith and stuff right?"

"Yeah. From what I heard, the game has a near unlimited number of them. Except for magic though." Said Yuga.

"Heh, an RPG without magic. That's a pretty bold decision." Klein said with a smirk as he continued to practice trusting. He chuckled happily at how quickly he was getting the hang of it.

The twins smiled at his joy. "So what do you think Klein? Kinda fun to move your body as you fight, isn't it?" Asked Kirito.

Klein turned to the twins with a mile wide smile on his face. "Aw, hell yeah it is!" The twins nodded their heads at his comment.

"So, you ready to move on?" Inquired Yuga.

"Yeah man, let's keep going." Answered Klein.

* * *

_A Few Hours Later_

After a few hours of playing, the sun started to set in the game. Kirito, Yuga, and Klein were now in another area of the field drinking in the view the game offered them with smiles on their faces.

"You know, when I look around, I still can't believe we're in a freakin' game bro." Klein said. "Seriously, whoever made this game is a genius. Seriously, it makes me glad I was born when I was."

"Join the club Klein." Yuga said, extending his fist towards him. Klein just fist bumped him.

"Come on, it's not that big a deal." Kirito said.

"'Not a big deal', Kirito, you were just as ecstatic to get this game as I was."

"Yeah and come on, cut me some slack. This is my first full dive."

The twins both looked at Klein in surprise. "Really? You mean you never used a Nerve Gear before today?" Kirito asked.

"Yep." Klein answered with a nod. "As soon as I got the money together, I rushed out and bought all the hardware to play SAO. Stood in line and scored one of the ten thousand hard copies. I guess you could say I was pretty lucky. Although...you two were ten times as lucky to get to Beta Test it, I heard only a thousand people got the chance."

"Yeah, I guess Yuga and I were lucky." Kirito said scratching the back of his head.

"So, mind if I ask how far you two got in the Beta?"

"Two months in and Kirito and I couldn't even make it past floor eight."

"Yeah, but now I think we could get there within a month easy." Kirito said confidently.

"Wow, just earlier you said it wasn't a big deal, now it sounds like you're really into this." Klein said with a snark.

Kirito then pulled out his sword and brought before him. "Hmm, I guess you could say that. During the Beta Test, SAO was the only thing on my mind, day and night. In this world, a single blade could take you anywhere you want. And in all honesty, even though it's a virtual world, I feel more alive in here than I ever did in the real world.

Yuga chuckled at his brother's declaration. "Yeah, the virtual world is indeed great. While that may be true, a wise man once said 'As terrifying and painful as reality can be, it's also the only thing that's real. The only place where you can find true happiness. Not to mention the only place where you can get a decent meal.'" Yuga chuckled as he finished his saying, causing his brother to chuckle too.

"Yeah, I guess you're right about that Yuga."

GROOOOWL

The twins heard a grumbling noise coming from Klein, causing to become embarrassed. "Hehe, speaking of decent meals, I'm getting pretty hungry. I better log out."

"Hmmm, it's too bad the food in here only satisfies your hunger virtually, huh?" Kirito asked rhetorically.

"For reals. That's why I ordered a pizza for 5:30." Klein said with a smirk.

"Wow, talk about victory lies in preparation." Yuga added.

"You know it man. Besides, the game can wait til after I get my pizza on." Klein then got up on his feet and looked at the twins. "Say, I was just about to go meet up with some people I know from another game. I don't know what you guys are up to after this so, you know, if you want you guys can friend them and hang with us."

Kirito looked to the ground with a downtrodden expression. He didn't do too well meeting other people. In fact, the only person he really associated with in games was his brother. Yuga, on the other hand was a little more sociable than Kirito, but like his brother, he was a little asocial as well.

"Uhh, we appreciate the offer Klein, but the thing is...Kirito and I really don't do too well with people we don't know. Honestly when we played games it's always been the two of us. So again, thanks for the offer, but you know..."

"Oh no it's alright Yuga, no pressure. You guys could always meet them another time."

"Yeah, sounds good." Kirito said casually. "Thanks Klein."

"No problem. If anything, I should be the one thanking you two. One of these days, I promise, I'll find a way to pay you guys back for all your help. Virtually, that is."

Kirito soon adopted a small smile on his face while Yuga had a smirk on his face. "We'll hold you to that Klein. Don't think we'll forget, cuz we won't." Said Yuga smugly.

"Right. Well anyway, thanks again for everything, Kirito, Yuga." Klein said gratefully while extending his hand to shake their hands, which the brothers did wholeheartedly. "Guess I'll see you guys around then."

"You bet Klein."

"If there's anything else you want to know, just message either me or Yuga and we'll help you out any way we can."

"Sweet, I'll do just that then." Klein then walked a good distance from them and swiped his hand to bring up his HUD menu. He face soon grew a confused expression. "Hey, uh guys. I don't mean to sound like a total noob but, wheres the log out button?"

The brothers soon became confused at Klein's question. "What?! It should be right there." Kirito said with a raised eyebrow.

"Klein, I realize this is your first time in full dive, but if you can't find the log out button, then you seriously got a problem, buddy."

"Guys, I'm not kidding, it's not there." Klein said, panic now present in his voice.

Kirito and Yuga then swiped their hands to bring up their own menus. And just as Klein said, the log out button was not present on their menus, causing them to become wide eyed in surprise. "What the hell?!" Yuga exclaimed.

"You were right, Klein. It's gone." Added Kirito.

"Well, it is the first day of the launch of the game, maybe it's a bug." Klein theorized. "Heh, I bet the server people are freaking out right now." He finished with a chuckle.

"Maybe, but if it is a bug, this is a pretty serious one." Said Yuga.

"Yeah, and the server people won't be the only people freaking out right now." Kirito added.

"What do you mean brother?"

Kirito then pointed to the clock on the HUD. The time read 5:25 p.m. Klein saw this and started freaking out since his pizza was supposed to arrive in five minutes. "NOOOOO! MY TERIYAKI MAYO PIZZA AND GINGER ALE!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Calm down Klein! Why don't you just call the game master?" Kirito suggested, causing Klein to stop screaming and calm down.

"Yeah, I did that but he's not picking up." He then turned towards the twins. "Hey, do either of you know if there is another way to log out of this thing?"

They both shook their heads. "Sorry Klein, whenever a player wants to log out, the only way to do that is to go through the menu." Yuga answered, causing Klein to panic once again.

"No, that can't be right." He said trying to deny what the younger twin just told him. "There's gotta be another way out. Uhhh, return! Log out! Escape!" He tried shouting words to try and log out, but they were in vain as nothing happened.

"Klein, we're sorry but we told you, the only way out is through the menu. Not to mention there was no emergency log out in the menu either." Kirito said.

"No way. You gotta be kidding." Klein soon got another idea. "Ooh, I know. I'll just take the Nerve Gear off my head." He then tried to take off his helmet while in the game, but like his previous efforts, they were for not.

"Don't bother trying. Once you're hooked in, you can't move your body in the real world anymore. The Nerve Gear intercepts all the commands you give from inside the game. There's even an interface built into the Rig." Kirito explained.

"Seriously?" Klein asked. "So now what, we wait until someone gets around to fixing the bug?"

"Well there is that, or until someone IRL comes around and takes the helmet off for us. But other that that, pretty much." Yuga added.

"Well crap, I live alone. What about you two?"

"We got a mom and sister. And I'm pretty sure they'll notice if we're not around by dinner-" Kirito tried to say, but hearing him say sister made Klein make a mad dash to the twins and grab onto their shoulders in anticipation and shocking the twins.

"N-no way! You guys got a sister?!" Klein asked excitedly. "How old is she? What is she like?"

Kirito and Yuga just looked at Klein as if he had just went insane. "Uhhhh, she's into sports and she hates games. Definitely not your type-" Yuga tried to say.

"Who cares, man?! I want a girlf-" At this point, Kirito and Yuga punched Klein in the stomach at the same time, knocking him on his ass. He tried to clutch his stomach, but realized he can't feel pain in the game.

"Get serious here, Klein." Kirito said seriously. "Don't you think this is weird?"

"Yeah, totally. But come on, it's just a bug."

"I don't think this is just a bug Klein." Yuga said. "If we can't log out, It'll cause some serious problems for the game."

"Yeah, you're right about that one."

"I wonder if the developers even know what's happening. If so, then they can just shut down the server and log everyone out." Kirito added. "So why haven't they made any kind of announcement?"

The three just stood there contemplating their dilemma. Their thoughts were interrupted when a bell started ringing in the town. Suddenly, they were enveloped in a flash of light. When the light dissipated, they found themselves in the town plaza along with all the other players in SAO. Everyone was very confused as to how they ended up in the town plaza.

"Hey, do you know what's going on?" One female player asked the person she was with, who shook his head as he was just as confused as she was.

"Someone forced a teleport." Kirito hypothesized. The bell finally stopped ringing and all was quiet save for the chatter amongst the other players. "Hey, look up there." One player pointed to the sky and sure enough, a red hexagon with the word 'warning' started blinking in the sky.

"Now what?" Asked Kirito.

"Whatever it is, you can bet it can't be good." Answered Yuga.

Eventually, more red hexagons appeared in the sky. They kept appearing until the sky became completely red. Suddenly, the sky started bleeding red blood, which freaked everyone out half way out of there minds. Soon, the liquid started to take shape into a giant, imposing hooded figure wearing what looked like a robe.

"Wow, talk about making an entrance." Yuga said sounding somewhat impressed.

"You can say that again." Kirito responded.

"Is that the game master?" A random player asked.

"Is this part of the game?"

"Why doesn't he have a face?"

"I'm scared." The same female player from earlier said as she got close to her companion, who held her securely.

"Don't worry. I'm sure it's all part of the opening ceremony." He assured her.

"**Attention players." **The figure called out to all present in the plaza. **"****I welcome you all to my world."**

"What does he mean by that?" Kirito asked.

"**My name is Akahiko Kayaba. And as of this moment I am in control of this world." **What the figure had told everyone shocked them to their cores. The figure before them was Akahiko Kayaba, the genius behind Sword Art Online. **"****I'm sure most of you have already noticed an item missing from your main menus; the log out button. Let me assure you this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect. This is how Sword Art Online was designed to be."**

"Uhhhh, he's kidding, right?" Klein asked shocked beyond belief.

"**You cannot log yourselves out** **of SAO. And no one from the outside will be able to shut down or remove the Nerve Gear from your head. If anyone attempts to do so, a transmitter inside the Nerve Gear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain and ending your life."**

'Tch! Man, I hate it when I'm right.' Yuga thought to himself. Soon after hearing this, everyone was now on the verge of panicking.. One couple tried to leave the plaza but a force field prevented them from doing so. "Hey, are you guys listening to this crap? He's gotta be nuts, right?" Klein asked the brothers.

"No...he's not." Kirito answered

"He's right Klein. The transmitters signal in the head gear work just like microwaves. If the safety is disabled, it could fry your brain." Yuga added.

"Well...couldn't someone cut the power or something?"

"It won't work. The Nerve Gear has an internal battery." Answered Kirito.

"GRRRR! This is crazy! It's totally crazy!" Klein said agitated.

"**Despite my warning, the families and friends of some of the players attempted removing the Nerve Gear. An unfortunate decision to say the least. And as a result, the game now has 213 less players than when it began. They had been deleted from both Aincrad and the real world."**

"213!" Kirito exclaimed in shock.

"No way!" Klein added.

"Holy shit! This can't be happening!" Yuga added grabbing the side of his head with both hands.

"**As you can see..." **Suddenly, pop up windows appeared around Kayaba's form. The windows all showed news footage in the real world about Sword Art Online. **"****International media outlets have round the clock coverage of everything, including the deaths. At this point, it is safe to assume the likelihood of a Nerve Gear being removed is minimal at best. I hope this brings you a little comfort as you try to clear the game. It is important to remember the following; there is no longer any way to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system...forever. And the Nerve Gear will simultaneously destroy your brain." **

The brothers imagined what would happen if they died in the game. The Nerve Gears they wore would destroy their brains, killing them in the real world, shocking them to their cores. They then looked at Kayaba in rage and anger. They both idolized this man for the creation of SAO and now he went and did this to all the players. This man was no genius or revolutionary, he was just a stone cold psychopath, plain and simple. Everyone else in the present now looked like they were about to have a mental breakdown, until Kayaba addressed them once again.

"**There is only one way for a player to escape, you must clear the game. As of now, you are all gathered on Floor One, the lowest level of Aincrad. If you can get through the dungeon and defeat the boss, you may advance to the next floor. Defeat the boss on Floor One Hundred, and you will clear the game."**

Right now, people were shouting things like "Impossible!" and "No way!" Others were still in denial at what he told them, say things like "Why should we believe you?" Even Klein was saying it would be impossible to clear all one hundred floors, that even the Beta Testers couldn't make it that high.

"**And last but not least, I've placed a little present in the item storage of every player. Please, have a look." **With that, everyone opened their menus and opened their item storage. Once Kirito and Yuga opened their item storage, they discovered an icon with the word mirror on it. When they pressed the icon, sure enough, a small mirror appeared in their hands. They looked into their mirrors and saw their reflections.

"GAH!" Klein shouted in surprise.

When the twins looked, Klein was enveloped in a blue light. ""Klein!"" They called out to their friend. Soon enough, everyone else were enveloped in the same blue light, including the twins. Eventually, the blue light faded away.

"Kirito, Yuga, you two okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine Kl-" Kirito tried to say, but the man before them wasn't the Klein they met earlier today. The man before them looked to be in his twenties, he was till scruffy and he wore the same red bandanna, but his hair was now shorter. This man looked nothing like Klein, which confused the twins at how he knew them. "Wait, who are you?"

The man looked at them with a confused expression. "What are you talking about? I'm me, who are you guys?" He asked. The twins looked at each other and...

"K-Kirito?"

"Yuga?"

""What the hell?! What happened to our avatars?!" The exclaimed at the same time. They looked around and realized they weren't the only ones who changed. Every single player in the plaza reverted to their real world appearances. Some players were younger than their avatars made them to be. Others were older. Some of the female players were even dudes in real life and vice versa. They then looked to the man and realized...

""Wait! Is that you Klein?!""

Klein just looked at them dumbfounded. "Wow! You guys really are twins in real life. If it wasn't for your guy's gear and colors, I don't think I could tell who was who." He said before his expression turned worrisome. "But seriously, how the hell-"

"The scan. There's a high density signal device inside the Nerve Gear rig. It could see what our faces look like, but how does it know our height and body type?"

"When you first put the Nerve Gear on, it had you do this calibration thing. It asked you to touch you all over your body like this." Klein explained as he touched his body to show how he did it. "Remember?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." Yuga added.

"You're right Klein, that's how it got our physical data."

"But I don't get it." Klein said as he put his hand to his head, trying to contemplate what the hell was going on. "Why would anyone do this to us. What the hell is the point."

Yuga pointed to Kayaba. "Something tells me this lunatic is about to tell us his reason."

"**Right now, you're all probably wondering 'why'? Why would Akahiko Kayaba, developer of Sword Art Online and Nerve Gear, do all this? Ultimately, my goal was a simple one. The reason I created Sword Art Online was to control the fate of a world of my design."**

"A God complex, seriously?" Yuga said angrily.

"Kayaba, you bastard." Kirito added just as angry as his brother.

"**As you can see, I have achieved my goal." **Hearing that made the brothers clench their fists tightly as they continued to stare angrily at Kayaba. If this were the real world, they would be bleeding right now from the pressure they applied to their hands. **"****This marks the end of the tutorial and the official launch of Sword Art Online. Players, I wish you all the best of luck." **And with those final words, Kayaba disappeared and the sky returned to it's normal color.

'This isn't a game anymore. It's real.' Kirito thought to himself clenching his fist. 'Akahiko Kayaba created a virtual world. He designed the Nerve Gear rig. The man is a genius. My brother and I have been fans of his for a long time. So I know, everything he just said is the truth. If we die in the game, we die in real life.'

After a few moments of silence, everyone in the plaza broke into a panic. People were scared beyond reason, many people began screaming in terror, many others wishing this was a nightmare and they wanted to wake up from it. Kirito and Yuga were the only ones who remained calm. Not wanting to get caught up in the panic, Kirito grabbed Yuga and Klein. "Yuga, Klein, lets get out of here." With that, the three ran out of the plaza and into a nearby alley.

"Alright, listen. Yuga and I are gonna head out for the next village. We want you to come along." Klein was taken aback by Kirito's offer. "If what he said is true, and I think it is, the only way we're gonna survive in here is to make ourselves as strong as possible." Kirito then brought a map of the Starting Floor and surrounding areas. "In an MMORPG, the money you could earn, the XP, once the game starts, there's only so much of it to go around."

Yuga then jumped in and pointed to where they were on the map. "Look here. The fields around the Town of Beginnings are going to be hunted clean soon. If we head to the next village now, we'll have an easier time collecting cash and points." He said as the map mapped out the fastest route to the next village. "Plus, Kirito and I know all the paths and places we should avoid. Even if we're level one, we can get there easy."

Klein was silent for a moment before he answered. "Thanks guys but, you know those friends of mine I was telling you about earlier? We stood in line for a whole night to buy this and they're still back at the plaza somewhere. I'm sorry but, I can't leave them."

Kirito thought about this for a moment. He realized if it was just him, his brother and Klein, it would be manageable, but two or three more might lead to problems.

"Sorry guys." Klein said, interrupting his thoughts and making the twins look at him. "I can't ask a couple of guys I just met to risk their lives for a bunch of complete strangers, can I?" He asked rhetorically. "So don't worry about me, you two just get your asses to the next village."

"Are you sure Klein?" Yuga asked sincerely.

Klein just smiled at the younger twin. "I'll be fine Yuga. I was a guild master in the last game I played so I'm more than prepared. And with all the stuff you guys taught me, I'll get by no sweat."

The twins just nodded their heads at his answer. "Alright, if that's what you want Klein, then we'll get going. Just remember, if you need anything, just message us, alright?"

"Sure thing, Kirito."

"We'll be seeing you soon Klein. Come on Yuga."

"Right behind you brother. Take care of yourself Klein." Responded Yuga as he followed his brother to the exit out of town. Before they got further, Klein had one last thing to say to the twins.

"Kirito! Yuga!" He called out to them, making them stop. "I...well...I think you guys look way better than your avatars." He complimented, making the twins smile at him.

"Yeah, and that scruffy face of yours suits you ten times better." Kirito said, making Klein laugh.

"Good luck Klein. Don't go doing something stupid and end up dying on us otherwise I'll kick your ass!" Yuga shouted, making Klein give them a thumbs up.

Without skipping a beat, the twins ran towards the exit, passing other players along the way. The twins ran through the fields as they made their way to the next village, having few run ins with some creatures that tried to stop their progress. The creatures were cut down like wheat by the twin's weapons, nothing was going to stop them. The thought of beating the game and seeing their family again was the only thing on their minds right now. They weren't going to let this world beat them, but in order to beat the final boss on the top floor and clear the game, they were going to have to get stronger and they sure weren't going to get that way just standing around. So with the determination and resolve to beat the game, the twins raced to the next village and onward towards their adventure.

* * *

_Meanwhile, back in the real world_

It was evening now and Suguha had just gotten out of kendo practice not too long ago. She was now heading home to get something to eat and check in on her brothers.

Suguha stretched her arms. "Mmmmmm. Oh man, practice was brutal today. I really hope I'm not getting rusty if I want to make it to Nationals again." She said to herself. As she was walking, she couldn't help but think of her brothers and how they were doing. "Hm, I wonder how Kazuto and Yusuke are doing. Knowing them, they're probably really invested in their game." While walking, she looked up to see a jumbotron on a building that was reporting a breaking story. What the story was reporting caused her to become horrified. The news was reporting about Sword Art Online and the deaths that attributed to the game as well as the players that were now trapped in the game.

"Wait, Sword Art Online! Isn't that the game that-" She widened her eyes in realization and terror. "Oh no. OH NO!" Suddenly she took off into a sprint as she ran for her house as fast as her legs could carry her. 'Kazuto. Yusuke. Please tell me you two aren't playing that game! Please tell me you're both alright. Please!' She thought hysterically. After running for what seemed like forever, she finally made it to the street her house was on. As she turned the corner, she saw something that made her heart stop and her blood run cold. Police and Paramedics were outside her home. She immediately assumed the worse. She saw her mother outside and ran to her.

"Mom!" Suguha called out. Her mother saw her daughter running up to her.

"Suguha." She acknowledged. Tears running down her eyes. She embraced her daughter.

"Mom, what's going on?!" Suguha asked hysterically with tears threatening to fall from her own eyes. Her mother said nothing, further worrying the young girl. "Mom, Kazuto and Yusuke. Are they-"

"No, no. They're alive honey." She affirmed. Hearing that brought some peace to Suguha, but not enough. She turned her head to her house to see people coming out of it.

"Alright, let's get these two out of here!" A paramedic shouted as he and three others were now seen wheeling out the Kirigaya twins and about to load them into ambulances to take them to the hospital. Suguha saw her brothers still had their Nerve Gears on their heads but were also hooked up to other things as well.

Seeing her brothers the way they were now, Suguha just felt her entire world fall apart. "NO! KAZUTO! YUSUKE! NO!" She shouted. She tried to run to get to them, but her mother held her back. Suguha tried with all her might to try and get free but he mother's grip was firm as she continued to scream their names. Once they were loaded into the ambulances, they were immediately taken to the hospital. Suguha at this point was on her knees crying her eyes out. Her mother was on the ground with her, hugging and comforting here daughter as best she could, even though she was also worried for her sons. The death game had officially begun, and all they could now was wait and hope they will come back someday.

**And done with the first chapter of The Black Swordsman and The Gray Huntsman. Like I said in the beginning, I would like to thank The authors of Last Step for the opportunity to adopt this story. I just hope that this story is good, not just for my other readers, but for them as well. Next chapter, Kirito and Yuga face their first boss fight and they have a run in with familiar auburn haired girl with her own views about the game. So read and review and let me know what you think, just nothing too mean and I'll have the next chapter out ASAP. Until then, this is TravyMcNavy184 signing out. P.S. The quote Yuga said to his brother should sound familiar to some of you. If not, watch Ready Player One, awesome flick.**


	2. Chapter 1: Beaters

**Hello everyone, TravyMcNavy184 here with the next chapter of The Black Swordsman and the Gray Huntsman. I just like to say thank you all for favoriting and following my story, especially to Last Step, without whom this would not be possible. I am stoked that people are reading and liking this story and want to see it continue. So here is the next chapter, as always I own nothing. Enjoy.**

Chapter 1

Beaters

_December 2__nd__, 2022 * 1__st__ Floor - Tolbana_

One month has passed since Akahiko Kayaba made the announcement that the 10,000 players who are now playing in Sword Art Online are now trapped within the game and to escape, they must beat the bosses of all 100 floors to clear the game. Of course the game has also become a death trap. If you're HP drops to zero in the game, the Nerve Gear helmets that the players were wearing would send a microwave signal directly to their skulls, destroying their brains. In other words, die in the game, you die in real life.

One month has already passed and already 2,000 people have died in the game. To make matters worse, after all this time, none of the players have been able to clear Floor 1, let alone find the dungeon the boss was hiding in. Currently, Kirito and Yuga, twin brothers who were once beta testers for the game, are pushed against a wall of a building contemplating on where to go from there. Yuga was eating an apple he picked up at the market in town. The reason they were there was because apparently there is supposed to be a meeting on where to find and beat the first boss.

Yuga took a bite out of the apple. "So you think this meeting will be legit?" Yuga asked as he faced his brother.

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Responded Kirito. "2,000 people have already died in this game. If someone has actually found the boss and has a plan to take it out, we gotta help any way we can."

Yuga nodded his head in agreement. With that, the Kirigaya brothers set out to the meeting place. After some walking, they arrived at the meeting place, which looked like an outdoor theater found in ancient Greece. Nearly two dozen people were sitting and waiting for the meeting to get underway. The twins arrived and took a seat next to each other. Suddenly, a lone man at the bottom of the stage clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. The man looked to be in his twenties with blue hair and matching eyes wearing a long blue tunic with chest and shoulder armor and a sword at his side and a shield on his back. The brothers deduced he was the one who called this meeting.

"Okay people, now that everyone is here, let's get this meeting started." He announced as all eyes fell on him. "So anyway, I would like to thank you all for coming. My name Diavel and in this game, the job I rolled is knight." He said putting his fist to his chest for emphasis.

Everyone sitting looked at him in confusion, others just chuckled at him. "Dude, there's no job system in this game." One of them yelled.

"Hey do you guys want to hear what I have to say or not?!" Diavel said in annoyance. It worked as everyone shut up and went back to paying attention. Diavel's face soon turned serious. "Right then. Alright, here's the deal. Our party found the boss room at the top of the tower today." Hearing that surprised everyone present. "First, we need to defeat the boss and make it to Floor Two. The next step is we have tell everyone waiting in the Town of Beginnings that it is possible to clear this game. Fact is it's our duties as the most capable players here. Do you all agree or not?"

Everyone looked to each other and nodded. This guy certainly had a point and everyone was onboard for a boss raid. One player started clapping slowly and soon after everyone else started clapping too, some even whistled in approval. Kirito and Yuga couldn't help but smile at the speech Diavel gave.

"You gotta admit, he's got some charisma." Kirito said.

Yuga nodded his head in agreement. "Mm, I can tell this guy is leader material."

"Alright, alright, settle down." Diavel continued. "I am glad that you all with me on this. Now, lets figure out how we're going to beat the boss. First off, we'll team up in parties of six. A typical party doesn't stand a chance against a floor boss, so we need a raid group with multiple parties." Diavel added, all the while people began pairing up with each other. The only ones who didn't were the twins. They looked at each other and already they knew what they were thinking.

"Party up with me Yuga?"

"Always." Yuga responded with a chuckle.

The two brought up the party creation screens, pressed some buttons and soon they were an official party. Yuga looked farther past Kirito and saw that they weren't the only ones who didn't party up. It was a lone player draped with a red cloak and a rapier by their side. Kirito saw this too and both decided to go to the player and see if they wanted to party up with them. They got up and moved to the cloaked player's spot.

"Hey, so you got left out too huh?" Kirito said lightly.

"...Not even." The player responded. Her voice was feminine so the twins deduced it was a girl. "I wasn't left out, it's just that everyone looks like they're already friends."

"So you're a solo player, huh?" Yuga added. "Well then would you like to form a party with my brother and I?" He offered sincerely, making the girl look at them. "Come on, you heard what Diavel said, we can't beat the boss alone."

"Plus it would only be for this fight." Added Kirito. After a moment, the girl nodded her head, making the twins smile. Just like with his brother, Kirito brought up the party form menu and sent a request to the girl. Eventually, she accepted and soon the party of two became three. Her name appeared on their HUDs, it read Asuna.

'Asuna? So that's her name?' Kirito thought.

'Asuna, huh?' Yuga thought, a small smile forming on his face. 'It's pretty unique.'

"Alright, looks like everyone's teamed up." Diavel continued. "Now then-"

"Hold on a sec!" Someone in the crowd interrupted the self proclaimed knight. Everyone looked behind them to see who it was who said it. It was a young man with orange hair with a matching goatee and brown eyes. What made him stand out was that his hair seemed to be spiked in similar fashion as a cactus The man jumped down the rows of seats and made his way to the stage and faced everyone. "My name's Kibaou, you got that?!" He introduced himself. "Before we take on the boss, I wanna get something off my chest. We all know about the 2,000 people who died so far, yeah? Well some of you need to apologize to them right now." He demanded as he pointed to the audience. The people in the audience looked at him in confusion. They wondered what the hell is this guy talking about. Kirito and Yuga glared at Kibaou. They had a feeling they knew who he was referring to.

"Kibaou," Diavel addressed the cactus haired player, making him look at him. "I think I know who you are referring to. You mean the ones who were ex Beta Testers, right?"

"Of course I mean them." Kibaou confirmed. "The day this stupid ass game started, the Beta guys just up and vanished, right?! They ditched all us beginners! They snagged all the good hunting spots and they grabbed all the easy quests too. They were the only ones who were getting stronger here. This whole time, they ignored us like we we're nothing." He said. His face soon grew angry and looked right at the crowd. "Hell, I bet there's some of them here. Come on out Beta Testers! We should make them apologize to us and we should make them all give up their money and the items they got. They can't expect the party to trust them when they don't trust us. Why should we?" Kibaou finished with his arms crossed across his chest and eyes closed in a smug and arrogant manner.

People began to murmur amongst themselves as if what he said rang true. Kibaou then eyed the twins. "Hey, you two in the back. The ones with the black hair!" He shouted pointing at the brothers. "I saw you two running out of the Town of Beginnings. No doubt you two are Beta Testers running out to snag all the good stuff, aren't you?!" Kirito and Yuga looked at him with annoyed expressions. This guy was starting to get on their nerves. "Come on down here right now and apologize to everyone and hand over everything you got." He demanded.

Kirito just sat while Yuga got up from his seat and began walking towards the stage, shocking his brother and everyone else present. "Yuga, what are you doing?" Kirito asked.

Yuga finally made his way down and faced Kibaou. "Well, I'm glad one of you is willing to take responsibility. Alright, out with it now!" Demanded Kibaou.

"So you really think that the people who died is because you think the Beta Testers all left, is that it?" Yuga asked, still giving Kibaou the death stare.

"You damn right! Because of you and the rest of your kind, 2,000 players have died. Now apologize and hand over everything you got!"

"And if I told you to fuck off and go rot in a ditch?"

"Why you-" Kibaou started to get angry and nearly reached for his weapon until...

"Excuse me, can I say something?" A new voice in the crowd made itself known. Everyone looked to see a tall, muscular, bald, dark skinned man with an axe strapped to his back. He stood up and walked to the stage until he was in front of Kibaou, who gulped at his hulking stature, even Yuga seemed a bit intimidated by his appearance. "Hey there, my name is Agil. Kibaou, right? I'd like to make sure we're on the same page. You say the ex Beta Testers, like this man here," He motioned to Yuga. "should be blamed for the rookie's deaths cuz they didn't help them. And you want them to apologize and make them hand over their winnings. Did I leave anything out?"

"No, you didn't." Confirmed Kibaou. At this point, Agil pulled out a little brown book and presented it to him.

"This here is a guide book. The items stores hand these out for free. I take you got one?"

"Sure I got one. So what about it?" Kibaou asked in annoyance.

"Do you know who was handing these out?" Agil asked rhetorically. "The ex Beta Testers."

Everyone present was shocked at the man's words. Kibaou on the other hand looked like someone spat in his cereal. Agil turned and faced everyone in the audience. "Listen up. Everyone had equal access to this information. Even so, lots of players still died. Now I didn't come here to point fingers at anyone, I'm here because I want to learn from those players deaths. I'm here because I wanna find out how we're gonna beat the boss."

"That's why we're all here." Kirito soon said his piece and made his way down until hi was next to his brother. Kirito too was glaring at Kibaou, not just for his baseless accusations but for having the nerve of nearly threatening his brother. "And there is something else you should know. Most of the deaths were all suicides, are you seriously going to pin those on the Beta Testers too?" Kirito said angrily, making Kibaou flinch a little but not losing his glare.

"Look Kibaou, gamers aren't exactly social butterflies, but there a very select few who are willing to help. All people had to do was ask. So next time, why don't you keep that in mind before you go and find another way to make an ass out of yourself." Yuga added as he and his brother made their way back to their seats, Agil doing the same. Kibaou just continued to glare angrily at the twins, but decided to let it go for now and stormed off in defeat and found a seat in the front row . Those two made a fool of him and he was going to find a way to make them pay one day.

"Alright, can we get back to the meeting now?" Diavel addressed, all eyes on him once again. "Now, for info on the boss, it's all in here." He said, motioning to the guide book in his hand as he presented to everyone and opened the book. "This is the latest issue of the guide book that you all heard about. According to the book, the boss' name is Illfang the Kobold Lord. Also, he'll be surrounded by his minions, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels. Illfang carries an axe and a buckler. He has four health bars and when the last one turns red, he switches to a curved sword type weapon called a talwar. It also states he can change his attack patterns as well."

Diavel closed the book in his hands and looked to the audience. "That's all for the briefing. As for the distribution of loot, money will be divided equally among everyone. The party that defeats the boss gets the XP and whoever gets an item, gets to keep it. Any objections?" In the audience, no one raised their hand in objection or challenged his word. "Very good, then if there is nothing else, then we leave tomorrow at 10 in the morning. Meeting adjourned people."

With the meeting over, everyone either got up and left or stayed and got to know their new parties. The twins looked in time to see Asuna leave quickly. They wanted to get to know her better before the raid but so much for that. Before leaving, they looked to Agil, who was chatting with Diavel. Yuga smiled at the man. "You know, we really need to thank him for what he did." He said.

"Yeah, we should." Kirito said with a nod. His expression soon turned serious as he faced his brother. "Now you you mind telling me what you were thinking back there?"

"What? Someone had to shut that cactus haired asshole up." Yuga responded.

Kirito just shook his head as he pinched his nose in irritation. He loved his brother to death but he had a bad habit of letting his emotions get the better of him at times. He put his hand on Yuga's shoulder. "Just-just promise me you won't go and do something so reckless like that again, okay." He requested sincerely, making Yuga go wide eyed.

He regained his composure and nodded his head. "Alright, I promise I won't. You have my word." He promised, making Kirito nod his head and smile.

"Now, why don't we go get something to eat. I'm starving." Kirito said with a smile.

"Ha, you read my stomach, brother." With that, the Kirigaya brothers headed back to town to get something to eat.

Night had fallen over the town and everyone was either eating, drinking, relaxing, or socializing with one another in preparation for the impending boss fight. Well almost everyone. Asuna was a good distance away from everyone else and was now noshing on a bread roll. "Those are pretty good, aren't they?" She turned to see the twins next to her.

"You seem a bit lonely, care if we join you?" Yuga asked.

Asuna didn't say a word, but nodded her head as she moved over a bit to make room for them. They soon sat down and took out their own bread rolls and started eating them and enjoying them. Asuna looked at them curiously. "You two really think these taste good?" She asked them.

"Yeah." Kirito responded. "Ever since we came to this town, we end up eating one a day. Of course we got a trick to make it taste better."

"A trick?" Asuna asked curiously.

Kirito then motioned to his brother, who nodded his head in understanding. Eventually, Yuga pulled out a small brown jar from his pack and presented it to her. "Here, try it with some of that." Yuga said. Asuna touched the top of the jar and a small, white sphere appeared on her finger tips, confusing her at first. She eventually ran the sphere across her roll until it disappeared. When it was gone, a yellow, cream like substance was spread on her roll, surprising her greatly.

"Cream?" She asked in surprise.

The twins soon followed after and applied the cream to their rolls. The two took large bites out of their rolls and enjoyed them. Asuna just looked at them before she took a bite of her own cream covered roll. After one bite, she scarfed the whole thing down in less than five seconds. Yuga just looked at her with an amused expression. "See, good isn't it?" Asuna nodded her head in agreement.

"Yuga and I got them from 'The Heifer Strikes Back', that's the quest in the village before you get to this one. You wanna know how we did it?" Asuna shook her head at the offer.

"I appreciate the offer, but I didn't come to this town to eat good food." Asuna said.

The twins both raised an eyebrow. "Oh, then why did you come here?" Inquired the younger twin.

"So that I don't lost sight of who I am." She answered cryptically, further confusing the brothers. "I don't want to lock myself in a room in the Town of Beginnings and slowly rot away. I'd rather stay the way I am until the last moment. Even if a monster beats me and I die, I won't lose. Neither to this game or this world, no matter what." Asuna finished, her voice steeled and determined.

The twins continued to eat their rolls for a few silent moments before Kirito decided to speak up. "I wouldn't want a party member dying on us. So try not to die tomorrow." Asuna just shot the older Kirigaya twin a dirty look. Yuga had to find a way to fix this situation.

"Uh, what my brother is trying to say is that we won't let you you die. We may not look like it, but you can count on us to have your back just so long as you have ours." Asuna's face soon softened at Yuga's words and soon adopted a small smile, though her cloak covered it up.

"Alright, as long as you two have my back, I'll have yours. Thank you." She responded. Yuga breathed a sigh of relief before he shot a glare to Kirito, who just looked at him like he did nothing wrong. He was going to have a talk with his brother about reading the room but for now he wanted to continue enjoying his roll.

_December 3__rd__, 2022 * 1__st__ floor – Forest Field_

The morning of the boss raid finally came and everyone was ready to take on the Floor one boss. Before they left the village, Yuga saw the tall man from back at the meeting, Agil, and decided to thank him for stepping in when he did, to which Agil humbly accepted the younger twin's gratitude. The two became instant friends along with Kirito, who while reluctant at first, gradually accepted Agil as a friend, the twins even adding him to their friends list..

Right now, Diavel and the rest of the players who signed up for the raid were walking through the forest that led to the dungeon where the boss was hiding out.

"Alright, let's go over this one more time." Kirito said to Asuna and Yuga. "The three of us are the backup, so our targets are going to be boss' minions, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels. I'll use a sword skill to knock their weapons up and out of the way-"

"And that's when we switch and jump in." Yuga interrupted while letting out an annoyed sigh. "Yeah, we know already Kirito. Seriously, that's like the fifth time we've gone over this since we left the village."

"Hey, I'm just making sure you know what our role is."

"Will you relax, this isn't exactly my first time at the dance. I know what my job is, I'll get it done."

Kirito just looked at Yuga with narrowed eyes and a worried expression. He knew he and Yuga did boss raids in other RPGs, but this time it's different. If they died in the game, they would die in real life. Kirito was scared of dying in the game but what scared him more was losing his brother. "What's a switch?" He was snapped out of his thoughts and both he and Yuga looked at Asuna, not believing what she just asked.

"Is this the first time you've been in a party?" Yuga asked, to which Asuna nodded, causing the brothers to stop in their tracks as Asuna went ahead of them. They sighed out in annoyance, knowing that trying to explain it to her was going to be a pain. Sucking it up, they caught up to her and explained the best they could to her what a switch is. She said she understood, but that was still up for debate with the twins.

After a little more walking, the party soon arrived at a menacing looking door in a dark corridor. They had finally made it to the boss room. Diavel turned around and faced everyone present. "Listen up everyone. I've only got one thing to say to all of you; Let's win!" He said with a confidant smile. Everyone was now pumped up for the fight before them. "Come on!" Diavel commanded as he pushed the door open and everyone rushed inside. On the other end of the dark room, a figure sat in the darkness upon a throne.

Suddenly, the room lit up for everyone to see inside. Then a giant red skinned monster with what looked like a dog's head wielding a shield on his left hand and an axe on his right hand jumped from his throne and landed before them. He let out a roar to intimidate the players, but they didn't budge as they stood their ground. The boss' name and four health bars appeared by his head, followed by three miniature versions of the creature wearing armor.

Yuga looked at Illfang and snickered. "Looks like the guide book was right."

"Looks like it." Responded Kirito. He looked at Yuga and Asuna while he took out his sword. "You two ready."

Asuna just nodded her head as she took out her own sword while Yuga looked at Kirito with a confidant smile as he prepared his axe. "Alright, time to kick some ass." He responded. Eventually, Illfang and his minions charged toward them.

"Commence attack!" Diavel commanded and the players rushed into battle.

The battle raged on as the players attacked Illfang and his sentinels, thankfully, no one has died yet. As the battle drew on, Diavel shouted out commands to certain parties. "Squads A and C, switch in!" They did as ordered and slowly, Illfang's health began to drop. Illfang prepared to attack the attacking parties. "Alright, here he comes! Squad B, block!"

As Illfang brought his axe down to cut down the players, a party led by Agil blocked the attack, allowing the players to keep attacking the boss. "Squad C, keep guarding and prepare to switch. Everyone else, when you fall back, regroup and flank them! Squads D, E, and F, Keep those minions off us!" He commanded, motioning to Kirito and his party.

"Yeah! You got it!" Responded Kirito.

"Roger!" Responded Yuga.

The brothers charged toward a sentinel that jumped towards them. The two attacked it and pushed it back. "Switch!" Kirito shouted to Asuna as she rushed in from behind them toward the downed sentinel.

"I'm on it!" Asuna shouted. Kirito and Yuga looked and were actually surprised.

'I thought she was a beginner, but she's got good skills. I can't even see the tip of her sword.' Kirito thought.

'Well, well.' Yuga thought impressed. 'I guess it's true what they say about the quiet ones.'

Eventually, Asuna killed the sentinel as it exploded into polygons. The twins grinned at the success of the attack pulled off by the girl.

"Right on." Kirito said.

"I'll say." Yuga said.

Soon more minions came rushing towards them and they fought back. While this was going on, Illfang's health dropped to red and he let out a roar that caught everyone's attention. He then threw his axe and shield to the side. He then reached behind him to grab his secondary weapon. "Stand back! I got it!" Diavel commanded as he charged towards Illfang to finish him off.

Kirito and Yuga saw this and became confused. 'I thought the plan was for everyone in the group to surround it.' Kirito thought. Diavel shot a quick glance towards the twins and smiled at them. They soon realized what he was doing.

"Kirito, you don't think he's-"

"Yeah, I believe he is Yuga."

As Diavel readied his sword skill to finish off Illfang, Illfang pulled his secondary weapon to defend himself. The weapon he pulled out however, wasn't the one the guide book mentioned. The twins were shocked at the realization. "Wait a minute, that's not a talwar. That's a nodachi!" Exclaimed Yuga.

"This isn't like the Beta. He's gonna get himself killed." Exclaimed Kirito. "NO, DIAVEL! IT'S NO GOOD. GET OUT OF THERE." He shouted, which caught Kibaou's attention. Diavel ignored Kirito's warning as he charged towards Illfang, who jumped in the air and began bouncing from pillar to pillar to throw him off. Illfang launched towards Diavel and delivered a brutal down swing that resulted in a massive slash across Diavel's chest. Illfang wasn't done as he delivered another slash to the raid leader and sent him flying.

"Diavel, no!" Shouted Kibaou as Illfang landed amongst the group and let out an intimidating roar, stopping them in their tracks.

"Diavel!" Kirito shouted as he and Yuga ran to the downed leader and knelt next to him on opposite sides. The twins saw his health was dropping rapidly, threatening to hit zero at any time. "What the hell were you thinking?" Kirito asked angrily as he pulled out a health potion to keep him alive. Diavel stopped him from administering it, which stunned the brothers. He looked at both of them.

"You both...were Beta Testers too, right? So you must...know what...I was doing."

The twins soon became wide eyed as they knew exactly what it was he was after. "You were after the last attack bonus. The rare item given to whoever delivers the final hit to the boss." Yuga deduced. So then...you were a Beta Tester too. Just like my brother and I."

Diavel smiled at the twins as he nodded to Yuga's response. "Please...you have to...defeat the boss." He begged as he started glowing, showing his time was almost up. "For...everyone here. Please...defeat him." With those final words, Diavel exploded into polygons and died. Everyone who saw this were shocked beyond belief, not more so than the twins.

'When this death game started, all I thought about was how my brother and I were going to survive, nothing else mattered.' Kirito thought to himself. 'But you, you weren't like that Diavel. You never abandoned the other players. Instead, you brought them together. You led everyone and you fought brilliantly. You tried to accomplish something neither Yuga or I ever could.' Kirito then looked to his brother with a serious expression. Yuga too had the same expression and both nodded to each other, already knowing what the other was thinking. They rose to their feet and narrowed their eyes at Illfang, weapons at the ready.

Suddenly, Asuna was by their side. "I'll go too." She announced determined.

"Alright then. Yuga, Asuna, lets take him down together."

"Let's make sure Diavel didn't die for nothing."

With that, the three charged forward. "We'll hit him just like we did the minions. Got it?" Kirito said, receiving a nod from both of them. Illfang saw the three approaching him and got in a battle stance. His sword glowed blue and performed an attack, which Kirito parried, sending him to the ground. With Illfang knocked off balance, it was time for a counter attack. "Asuna! Switch!"

Asuna and Yuga charged forward to perform her attacks, but then Illfang regained his balance and performed his own sword skill. "Asuna, watch out!" Yuga shouted in warning. Asuna saw the attack coming and barely managed to avoid the attack, her cloak getting destroyed in the process. Her full appearance was that of a beautiful young girl with long, chestnut colored hair and matching eyes, causing the twins to become enamored by her appearance. Asuna followed up with her sword skill that sent Illfang flying.

Illfang let out a roar and stomped towards them. Kirito snapped out of his trance and got back up on his feet. "Get ready, he's coming back!" He then ran towards Illfang and readied his sword. Kirito parried Illfang's attack and Asuna followed up with her sword skill again, dealing it another heavy blow. Illfang regained his bearings and unleashed the same sword skill he used to kill Diavel. Kirito managed to parry the strike. As Illfang went for another strike, Kirito was about to parry it when Illfang feinted his strike and struck Kirito hard, sending him flying and crashing into Asuna.

"Kirito! Asuna!" Yuga shouted in concern and ran to them. Asuna looked down at Kirito and saw his health drop to yellow. Before she could do something, Illfang was over them and brought down his sword to finish them off. Asuna and Yuga tried to block the attack, when suddenly someone flew over them and parried the attack away and sent Illfang flying away from them. It was revealed to be Agil who parried the attack. Once Agil stopped the attack, the other players rushed in to distract him. Agil looked towards the three. "We'll hold this bastard off until your health is back up." He said to Kirito, who smiled in gratitude and nodded.

Yuga went to Agil's side and grinned at his friend. "I'll go along with you. I owe this douche some payback for what he did to my brother."

Agil smiled at his fellow axe wielder. "Alright, but just try and keep up." He said before he dashed towards Illfang with Yuga right behind him. As Kirito was healing himself, the other players were unleashing a full on assault on Illfang, who managed to block their attacks and knock them down. He then performed a high jump and readied his sword skill again as he fell towards Agil, Yuga and two other downed players.

Kirito saw this and was immediately back on his feet. "Watch out!" He shouted as he prepared his own sword skill and lunged forward towards Illfang. "You're going down!" He shouted as he struck Illfang before he could follow through with his attack and sent him crashing to wards the ground hard. Kirito somersaulted as he landed and charged towards the boss. "Come on! Asuna! Yuga! Help me beat this sucker! One last attack!" Asuna and Yuga were already ahead of him as the charged with him.

"You got it!" Shouted Asuna.

"Need you ask?" Said Yuga with facetiously.

As they neared Illfang, who got back up and performed a counter attack. Kirito saw this and parried the attack, knocking him off balance. Asuna followed up with a powerful thrust, knocking Illfang back and causing him to drop his sword. Yuga then jumped up and performed an axe skill and sliced Illfang down the middle vertically. Kirito then slashed Illfang horizontally. ""EAT THIS YOU BASTARD!"" The brothers shouted in unison as they stood side by side and both slashed Illfang diagonally, completely cutting him on all sides. With his health completely depleted, Illfang exploded into polygons and disappeared. The battle was over, they had won.

The word 'Congratulations' appeared and immediately everyone cheered in victory and relief. Kirito and Yuga were on the ground exhausted from their combined attacks, with Yuga using his axe to crutch himself up. Then, a screen appeared before each brother, both saying that they had won the last attack bonus. They looked at each other briefly and back to the screen. It soon shifted to say 'Bonus Item'. Kirito obtained the Coat of Midnight while Yuga got the Hunter's Shroud.

Agil and Asuna walked up to the twins. "Nice job you two." Asuna praised them.

"That was some fine swordsmanship and axe handling. Congratulations, today's victory is all thanks to you two." Agil added.

"N-no." Kirito said softly, trying not to take all the credit.

"We wouldn't have made it this far if it weren't for all of you." Yuga added. Just then, everyone started cheering in praise for the brothers. Many called them 'amazing' and 'awesome'. For a bit, the twins smiled, to be hailed as heroes felt good, really good. Everyone continued to cheer, well, almost everyone.

"Stop cheering!" Shouted Kibaou and just like that, the room was silent and all eyes fell on Kibaou. "Why? Why did you let Diavel die?"

The twins looked at Kibaou confused.

"Die?"

"What do you mean by that?"

Kibaouo looked at the brothers, anger and anguish present on his face. "You know damn well what I mean! Admit it, you two knew the technique the boss was gonna use. You could have told us! Then Diavel would have stood a chance. He wouldn't have had to die!" At those words, everyone started murmuring amongst themselves. They then started shooting the twins some not so friendly expressions. These people were cheering for them not even five minutes ago and now it looked like they were about to become a lynch mob.

"I know why they knew." One of Kibaou's friends shouted. "You said it yourself, they used to be Beta Testers. Think about it, they knew the boss' attack pattern. They knew but they kept it from us. And I'm willing to bet they're not the only ones here. Come on, show yourselves!" He demanded to the crowd. Everyone in the crowd started to stare at each other in distrust. No one knew who was a Beta Tester and who wasn't, but it didn't matter. The whole room became a powder keg that was ready to go off with a single spark.

The brothers looked at each other. Kirito looked like he had a plan formulating in his head. "Kirito, please tell me you have some kind of plan." He said hopefully. Kirito was silent for a moment before he motioned for his brother to lean in so he could whisper in his ear. Yuga became wide eyed at his plan. "Ar-are you sure about this?"

Kirito nodded his head. "Yeah, it's the only way."

Yuga's face soon grew serious and nodded his head as well. "Alright. I'm with you all the way."

Asuna and Agil walked up to Kibaou and his friends to try and diffuse the situation. Just then, everyone heard laughing coming from the twins. They laughed in a cold and arrogant manner, one that reminisced a super villain who planned world domination and sent chills down some of the other player's spines. They calmed down before they spoke. "So you guys think my brother and I used to be Beta Testers, huh?" Kirito asked, a wicked smile adorned in his face as he and his brother stood up. "It's not cool to put us in the same class as those noobs."

"W-what did you say?!" Kibaou shouted in disbelief.

"You heard him." Yuga added as the two started walking through the crowd and towards Kibaou. "Most of the thousand people who scored a slot in SAO's Beta were freakin' rookies at best. They were so green, they didn't even know how to level up. Hell, you guys were better than they were." He said with the same expression on his face as his brother.

"My brother speaks true. We're nothing like those guys. During the Beta, we made it to floors that were higher of the other testers, that's a known fact! We knew about the boss because we fought tons of monsters with way more sword skills on higher floors."

""We know a bunch of other things too. More than any of you could possibly imagine. More than any info broker."" The twins said in unison with matching sadistic grins on their faces.

Kibaou and his friends stood shocked at the twin's arrogant claim. "W-what the hell." Kibaou said before his face grew angry again. "Well if that's true, you two are worst than Beta Testers. You're both god damned cheaters! That's what you are!"

Angry insults and shouts soon shot towards the brothers. "They're Beta Testers and cheaters. They're beaters!" One person in the crowd shouted.

The twins didn't mind it, in fact, hearing that word made them smile all the more wickedly. "Beater, huh? That's good, don't you think so, Yuga?" Kirito asked his brother.

"I do indeed brother. We should trademark that." Responded Yuga, once again shocking everyone present.

The twins soon opened their items menus. "Fine then, you can call my brother and I beaters." Kirito said.

"Just don't go confusing us with those Beta Testers anymore." Added Yuga.

Kirito selected the Coat of Midnight he won from the boss fight and soon was adorned with a dark black leather coat. Yuga selected his prize from the boss fight, the Hunter's Shroud, and soon a dark gray hooded shroud with a bow and arrow symbol on it's back, appeared on his shoulders. Shooting everyone one last look, they made their way to the exit of the dungeon, the crowd parting like the Red Sea getting out of their way.

Asuna and Agil stood shocked at what they just heard. Asuna soon dashed towards the twins. "Wait." She shouted, making the brothers stop and turn to face her. "When we were fighting the boss, you both called me by my name."

"Forgive us if we were rude or mispronounced it." Yuga apologized.

"It's not that. How did either of you even know it?"

"If you look right about here..." Kirito motioned to an area on the HUD. "you'll see two HP gauges under yours. There are names written right next to them."

Asuna looked at the spot Kirito mentioned and sure enough, she saw two more HP gauges and the names that went with them. "Kirito... and Yuga." She said out loud. "So those are your names?" The twins nodded at her query. She soon started to giggle. "I'm so dumb. It was there the whole time and I never knew."

Kirto turned and faced the door. "You can become powerful here on your own. But if the day comes that someone you trust invites you to join a guild, don't turn it down. There are limits to what solo players can do." Kirito said, causing Asuna to frown.

"But, what about you two?"

Kirito said nothing as he brought up his party menu and selected the option to dissolve the party. As of now, he and Yuga were solo players again. "Come on Yuga." he said as the door opened and he exited. Yuga just shook his head at how cold his brother could be sometimes. He then turned to face Asuna.

"I apologize for my brother, he doesn't do too well around other people aside from me. But let me assure you that when people get to know him, he's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet." He explained to Asuna, who was surprised at the younger twin's explanation. "You're very strong Asuna. I'm sure we'll meet again further down the road. Until then, I guess this is good bye." Yuga said as he held out his hand to shake hers.

Asuna smiled and took his hand. "Alright, but until then, you two better stay alive and watch each other's backs." Yuga smiled in return.

"YUGA, COME ON!" Kirito shouted to his brother.

"Alright, I'm coming!" Answered Yuga. He looked at Asuna one last time and smiled at her. "Hey uh, has anyone ever told you you look better when you smile?" He asked her, making her blush. Yuga just chuckled as he put the hood on his shroud over his head and ran to join his brother on their next adventure.

"Hey, Yuga." Asuna shouted, getting his attention. "Well, don't be a stranger. Drop a message in every now and then. To at least let me know you two are still alive, alright?"

Yuga smiled once again. "You bet, Asuna. Adios." He gave her the peace sign and ran out the door to rejoin his brother.

**And done with the next chapter of The Black Swordsman and The Gray Huntsman. So now the twins have cleared the first floor and have officially been labeled as Beaters. With 99 more floors to clear, their adventure is only just beginning. I hope you all like this chapter and look forward to more. If there is anything I can do to fix it just let me know and again thank you everyone who favorited and followed this story and again a big thank you to Last Step for making this story possible. A little heads up, I was thinking of Yuga starting his own unofficial guild like the Debauchery Tea Party in Log Horizon and I was thinking of calling them either the Aincrad Hellfighters or The Fallen Angels. It's just an idea that has been floating in my head and I was wondering what you all think. Let me know in the comments or pm me and I'll see what I can do about it. Until next time, this is TravyMcNavy184 signing out.**


	3. Chapter 2: The Red Nosed Reindeer

**Hello everyone and welcome back for another chapter of The Black Swordsman and The Gray Huntsman. Previously, the Kirigaya brothers have defeated the first boss and have begun their dangerous quest to clear the game, but not before being ousted as 'beaters.' Kirito and Yuga still have a long way to go before they can beat the game and get back to the real world, will they pull it off or will they become just two more statistics in the game's increasing death toll. This chapter, the brothers join up with a guild, hoping to clear the game with much better odds. Let see how this pans out. Before going on, I'll answer some reviews.**

**Last Step: I'm glad you like it and thanks again for letting me adopt the story. I assure you won't be disappointed.**

**Monster: Oh don't worry, there are many adventures to come for the twins. Stick around to find out what.**

**Zack: I'm glad you are liking it.**

**So without further ado, here is the next chapter. Read, relax, and enjoy.**

Chapter 2

The Red-Nosed Reindeer

_April 8__th__, 2023 * 11__th__ Floor – Taft_

It's been four months now since the boss fight on Floor One. Right now, in a tavern on the 11th floor, a small guild of five players were celebrating a hunting quest completed as well as toasting a familiar pair of twins who saved their lives when all hoped seemed lost for them.

"Here's to us, the Moonlit Black Cats! Cheers everyone!" A member of the guild named Ducker, a young man with blonde hair, a black beanie, and wearing a yellow tunic with a dark yellow shroud, shouted.

"CHEERS!" Everyone in the guild shouted as they raised their glasses for a toast.

"I've got another. Here's to the guys who saved our lives! To Kirito and Yuga!" The same man declared.

"To Kirito and Yuga!" Everyone cheered to the brothers with smiles. The twins looked at the guild members shyly as they raised their own glasses for a toast.

"Uh...cheers guys." Kirito said softly.

"Thanks." One member said in gratitude.

"Yeah, you guys saved us back there." Another said.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." The lone female member of the group said.

"Guy's, really. You flatter us." Yuga said with a blush.

"Please, it was nothing. Really." Kirito added.

"I can' tell you how scared I was. And it made so happy when you both came to save us, I..." The female tried to say but couldn't find to words.

"Hey, Kirito. Yuga. Sirs." The leader of the guild equipped in a red tunic and dark brown hair said, trying his best to be formal. "I hope I'm not out of line asking, but I was wondering what levels are you two at?" He asked.

The twins looked at each other then back to the him. "We're both level 20." Kirito answered. Of course he lied about that. He and Yuga were both at level 40, but they didn't want to reveal that to them for fear of revealing their statuses as beaters.

The leader looked at the brothers with an awed expression. "Really, you guys are at our level and still solo players. You are inspirations, sirs." He said, still looking a little tense. He looked as if he were talking to higher ranked military officers and he was just a low ranked enlisted man.

"Look, Keita was it?" Yuga asked the leader, who nodded his head. "Look, this isn't a military unit and Kirito and I certainly aren't your superiors. You don't need to be so formal with us. Relax will you?"

"Plus, being solo players means we're always hunting enemies out in the boonies. Truth be told, it's not very efficient."

Keita seemed to calm down a bit from being told that. "Oh, right." He said. He then smiled as an idea popped in his head. "Well in that case, I hate to swing this on you both here but...if you want, we'd love to have the both of you in our guild." The twins gained wide eyed expressions at the leaders offer. "Our mace wielder, Tetsuo," He motioned to the member of the guild in a purple tunic. "is the only one we can put out front right now. And of course," He then went to the female member and started patting her head. "We got Sachi over here. I was thinking of having her switch to a sword and shield, that way she can fight on the front lines. The thing is though, she thinks she won't be able to handle it. If you joined us, maybe you can teach her a thing or two."

The female member, now known as Sachi, just looked at him annoyed. "Oh come on. I'm not that useless." She retorted as she got out from under his hand. "Seriously, you can't just put me out front and expect me to know what to do. I'd be terrified."

"It's no big deal. Just hide behind your shield."

"Yeah, right." Keita said, further annoying Sachi. "For as long as I've known you, you've always been a scaredy cat." He said jokingly, making the other members laugh along with him in good fun. "We always joke around like this. You see in real life, we all go to the same high school and are members of the computer club. But if either of you are worried about fitting in with us, don't be. As far as I'm concerned, you're already part of our group. Right, guys?" He motioned to his guild mates, who all had smiles on their faces and agreed. Even Sachi looked to have a smile on her face.

The twins stayed silent for a moment, then looked at each other. "What do you think, Kirito?" Yuga asked his brother.

"Well...this is all very flattering and all, but...I just don't know." He responded, causing the guild members to become disheartened. They certainly didn't want them to say no.

"Come on, Kirito. What to we have to lose? We'll stand a better chance at clearing this game if we do it in a guild. So why not give it a shot?"

Kirito stayed silent for a moment before he smiled, which Yuga returned. The two then looked to the guild. "Alright, we'll do it."

The guild member's faces soon perked up and they surrounded the brothers in celebration They welcomed their newest members with open arms and gave them both a very warm welcome. For a good portion of the night, The Moonlit Black Cats got to know the twins and vice versa. After a while, they retired for the evening,

The twins booked a room with two beds. Right now the two were browsing their items menus, making sure they had everything and were prepared for the next hunting party. Yuga glanced a look at his brother, who had a look that looked like his mind was miles away. "A penny for your thoughts?" Yuga asked lightly, but he got no answer. "Hey, Kirito."

That managed to break his concentration and look up to his brother. "Hmm? What was that?"

"You got something on your mind you'd like to share?" Kirito just remained silent. "Come on, I'm your brother, you know you can tell me anything."

Kirito just remained silent for a moment before he answered. "I just...I just have a lot on my mind right now."

"Are you thinking about mom and Sugu?"

His eyes began to tear up in sadness. "Yeah. I...I miss them a lot." He then started to cry.

Yuga closed his menu, got up from his bed and went to his brother's and sat next to him. He then put a hand on his shoulder, making Kirito look at him, tears forming in his own eyes. "I know. I miss them too." Yuga responded. "But come hell or high water, we're gonna beat this game and we're gonna see them again. And when we do, we're gonna have to find a way to make it up to them for worrying them so much." Yuga said with a chuckle at the end. Kirito smiled at his brother's words, wiping the tears from his face with his sleeve. "And always remember, that no matter what happens, no matter where or how far you go, you'll always have me and I'll always have your back, no matter what. I...I hope you know that, Kazuto." Kirito then smiled further, not even minding that he used his IRL name.

Kirito then put his own hand on Yuga's shoulders. "Thanks Yusuke, and the same goes for you. If you ever find yourself in trouble, even if you find yourself in Hell itself, just call my name and I'll come running to save you. Even if I have to crawl to you." Kirito responded, his brother smiling warmly at his brother as he nodded. "And Yusuke, when it's just us, let's address each other by our real names. But when in public, it's back to Kirito and Yuga, got that?" He proposed as he put out his fist.

Yuga smiled again and bumped his brother's fist in agreement. "Yeah, you got it big brother." The twins smiled at each other at their agreement as they bumped fists with each other. After a little more preparation, they bid each other good night and went to sleep, eagerly awaiting for the next raid with their new guild mates.

* * *

_May 9__th__, 2023 * 20__th__ Floor – Sunlit Forest_

The twins have been with The Moonlit Black Cats for about a month now and everything seemed to be progressing well, albeit slowly for the guild of beginners. Right now in a forest dungeon on Floor 20, The Moonlit Black Cats were locked in battle with a human sized grasshopper. The lancer of the group was trying his best to keep it at bay. Sachi was about to jump in and deal a blow to it, but when it snarled at her, she froze. The grasshopper attacked Sachi, hitting her shield and knocking her back.

"Sachi!" Kirito shouted in concern. He and Yuga then took out their weapons and charged in. "Get back, we got this."

As the grasshopper was about to swing down on Sachi, Yuga jumped in and cut off it's appendage, causing it to snarl in pain. As it brought down it's other appendage, Kirito parried the attack, causing it to stumble back. "Tetsuo, it's all you! Switch out!" Yuga shouted.

"Got it!" The mace wielding member of the Black Cats shouted as he charged towards the grasshopper with his mace skill activated. He delivered a powerful blow to it's midsection, bifurcating it in half and making it explode into polygons. Tetsuo grinned at his victory as the rewards for killing the creature appeared before him, even saying he went up one level, to level 23. The other members gathered around Tetsuo and praised him for his victory. The brothers looked at the guild with hopeful smiles. They believed that with more training, these newbies will have a shot at surviving.

The Black Cats decided to have a celebratory picnic to commemorate a job well done. Kirito and Yuga were sitting with Keita on the grassy plains while the others were mingling in another area. Keita was lying on his back while reading a news letter called 'The Weekly Argo' and it detailed how the assault team had cleared the 28th floor, and with no casualties to boot. "The assault team made it through to Floor 28. That's amazing!" Keita said in awe. "Hey Kirito, Yuga, what the heck does the assault team have that we don't?"

"You mean aside from larger numbers and a cooler name." Yuga said facetiously, making Keita look at him irked.

Kirito just chuckled at his brother's humor. "Well, they have access to better information." Kirito answered. "With that, they can find the easiest ways to get XP and they don't share that info."

"Hmmm, yeah, you're probably right. But what I think really sets them apart is willpower." Keita said as he crossed his arms over his chest. Hearing that made the twins raise their eyebrows in curiosity.

"What do you mean by that?" Inquired the older Kirigaya.

Keita sat up before he answered. "I guess what I mean is they have the will to stick up for their friends or any player for that manner." he said before he faced the twins. "Truth is, I like to think we got that same kind of drive. Even though we still need the protection. That said, our first priority is looking out for each other. That someday, if we get strong enough, we'll join the elites in the assault team."

Kirito and Yuga both smiled at the leader's ambition to make his guild stronger. "Well, that's quite the ambition you have there, Keita." Yuga said. "I think that if you keep going the way you all are, you'll achieve your dream in no time."

"You really think so, Yuga?" Keita inquired.

"We know so." Kirito added, making Keita scratch the back of his head in embarrassment. Ducker soon jumped down and playfully locked Keita in a choke hold. "Hey leader, give me some love." He said in a jovial manner.

"HEY!"

Soon enough, the rest of the guild joined the three. "So you really think we can be as strong as The Holy Dragon Alliance or The Knights of the Blood Oath?" Tetsuo asked rhetorically.

"Yeah. What if I do?" Keita asked rhetorically. "There's nothing wrong with setting our sights high. But we have to be level 30 first."

The twins just smiled at their guild mates as they continued to joke with each other. Kirito leaned in to whisper to Yuga. "I like the way Keita thinks. If the Black Cats can level up fast enough and get to the front lines, his ideas could change the elitist attitude of the assault team."

Yuga nodded his head and whispered into Kirito's ear. "Indeed. Keita certainly has the drive to level up and clear the game. You're definitely right, I think these guys can knock some of those arrogant pricks on the assault team down a peg or two." Kirito nodded his head in agreement. Their smiles soon turned to a frown as they looked at their levels. The twins were now level 48, a good 15 levels above everyone else.

With the hunting quest completed, The Black Cats returned to the tavern on Floor 11. Everyone was sitting about with Keita at the front of the room. "Everyone, I have an announcement to make." He said, getting everyone's attention. "After our latest hunt in the field, we've got 200,00 col." Everyone shouted in excitement at the announcement.

"Buying a house of our own doesn't seem like a pipe dream anymore." Said Tatsuo.

"Ooh, I know. How about we upgrade Sachi's equipment."

"Good idea." Keita said jokingly.

Sachi just shook her head with a small smile on her face. "I'm fine with what I have."

"Oh come on. You know, it's not fair to make Kirito and Yuga be out in front forever."

This made Sachi frown sadly as she faced said brothers. "I'm sorry."

They both shook their heads. "Don't worry about us, Sachi. It's cool." Kirito said casually.

"Yeah, Kirito and I don't mind being out in front. We're just happy to be of help."

"Thanks guys." Keita said gratefully. "Sachi, I know switching jobs isn't easy, but seriously, you're almost there. You can do it, I know it." Keita said confidently to Sachi, who still had a doubtful expression on her face. Kirito and Yuga saw this and couldn't help but feel worried.

* * *

_May 16__th__, 2023 * 28__th__ Floor – Wolf Plains_

The twins left the Black Cats' HQ and soon found themselves on floor 28. As they were walking around, they came upon a guild wearing what appeared to be matching samurai armor fighting against a pack of wolves. They looked to the right and saw more guild members chasing down a wolf and at the front of it, the twins were surprised to see a very familiar face, one they hadn't seen in months.

"Hey wait, is that-" Yuga said.

"Klein." Kirito finished.

Klein stopped in front of the wolf creature and readied his sword skill. He charged forward and slashed the beast, killing it. He sheathed his sword in reveled at his victory. He then looked to the distance and saw Kirito and Yuga. "Hey! Kirito, Yuga! What's up guys" He shouted, happy to see his friends again. "The trash mop is all yours, guys." He said to his guild mates.

"Sure." One member said as Klein ran to greet his friends and try to catch up.

The twins were surprised, they didn't expect to run into Klein of all people. His appearance had changed drastically. He still had his original hairstyle and trademark headband, but now he sported red armor and a katana, giving him the appearance of a Japanese samurai warrior. "Oh man, it's been forever since I've seen either of you two." He greeted.

"I'll say, good to see you again." Yuga said with a smile.

"You seem to be doing well for yourself, Klein." Kirito said neutrally.

Klein gave them both a wide smile. "Yep, couldn't be doing any better. So what brings you two out here? Doing some late night leveling or something?" He asked before he noticed an icon with what appeared to be a black cat and a crescent moon displayed above the brother's health bars. "What's with those icons? Did you guys join a guild?"

"Yeah I guess you could say that." Kirito answered as he looked away, making Klein wonder what was up with him.

"It's all clear, we can move on." A member of Klein's guild shouted. With that, Kirito just started walking away. "See ya." Kirito said as he walked past Klein. Yuga just shot his brother an annoyed look. Still just as rude as ever.

"Sorry about that Klein." Yuga apologized. "It was great seeing you again. Message me sometime." Yuga called out as he tried to catch up with his brother.

Klein just looked at them with a soft smile and crossed his arms. "Still practically attached at the hip, those two are. Well, as long as they're still alive and watching each others backs, I guess that does me some good." He said to himself as he rejoined his guild.

After some late night walking, the twins returned to the 11th floor. Yuga had a 'chat' with Kirito about how he treated Klein. Of course Kirito apologized and said he would do better next time, which Yuga reluctantly took his word for. As they entered the town, they received a message from Keita. He said that Sachi had gone out and hasn't returned, which worried the brothers. He also said he and the rest of the guild would check the dungeon area and to let him know if they found her.

"So Sachi is missing?" Said Yuga. "Where could she have gone?"

Kirito brought up his skill list and selected the skill 'track'. Soon, his eyes glowed green as he looked around the town for any trace of Sachi. He looked in a part of town and discovered a trail. "I see foot prints. Come on." He said as he took off in a sprint with Yuga right behind him. After following the trail a ways, the brothers managed to find Sachi hiding under a bridge.

"Sachi, there you are!" Exclaimed Kirito, making the girl look up to see who called her out.

"Kirito, Yuga." She addressed them with a somewhat relieved tone.

"Sachi, why'd you run off like that? Everyone is really worried about you." Yuga said. When she didn't say anything, Kirito and Yuga walked up to her and sat close to her.

"Hey guys." She addressed them, making them look at her. "We should...run away." She suggested, confusing the boys.

"Run away? From what?" Asked Kirito.

"From this town. From the monsters. From the Moonlit Black Cats. From Sword Art Online." The last bit made the brothers become wide eyed in shock.

"Are you...suggesting...a suicide pact?!" Yuga asked beyond shocked.

Sachi just chuckled at Yuga's claim. "That's not such a bad idea." She responded, further scaring the boys. "I'm sorry, no. If I had the guts to die, I wouldn't be hiding in town where it's safe, would I?" Hearing that calmed them down a bit. "But really, why can't we just leave? Why do we have to die? It's just a stupid game. What's the point of going through all this."

The twins thought for a moment and realized Sachi's question's had merit. Why were they trapped in the game and why did Akahiko Kayaba do such a heinous act? What was the point in all this? No one had an answer. "Yeah...you're right about that. There certainly is no point in this." Kirito responded.

"Yeah, nothing to go on but the ramblings of a psychopath with a god complex." Yuga said, anger present in his voice.

"I...I'm so afraid of dying in here."

The twins looked at Sachi in empathy. "Is it really that bad for you?" Kirito asked.

Sachi nodded her head. "I'm so scared. I haven't been able to get any sleep lately." She said as she continued to curl into a ball.

"You won't die, Sachi." Yuga declared, making Sachi look at the twins, both with confidant smiles on their faces. She wished she could share their confidence.

"Really? How can you two be so sure of that?"

"The Black Cats are strong enough as a guild. And besides, our margin of safety is well above the norm." Kirito answered.

"Plus you got Tetsuo, Kirito, and I up at the front." Added Yuga. "So there's no reason to be on the frontlines with us."

"You honestly don't think I'll die? Will I make it back to the real world?" She asked hopefully.

"Yeah, you're not gonna die, you'll see. We'll clear this game and go home soon." Assured Kirito with a smile.

Yuga nodding his head in agreement. "Kirito is right Sachi. We will protect you and everyone else in the guild and we'll see to it that we all get out of this game alive. No matter what." Sachi looked at the two in awe before she adorned a hopeful smile on her face as she began to cry.

Yuga got up and walked to Sachi and held out his hand. "Now, how about we head back to the tavern?" Sachi continued to smile as she accepted the younger twin's hand as he helped her to her feet. With their search a success, the three headed back to the tavern to get as good night's rest.

Back in their room, Yuga was lying on his bed with his hands behind his head while Kirito was on the opposite bed going though his items menu. Yuga turned to his brother. "Did you really mean what you said, Kazuto?"

"I did, Yusuke." His brother responded. "If you and I are in this guild, Sachi will be safe and we'll all make it back to the real world someday."

"Hmm. It's just that I didn't think you had it in you to be that kind of supportive." Yuga said jokingly, making Kirito roll his eyes in annoyance.

"Yeah well, when I see Sachi, I can't help but think that there are other players like her. Ones who are afraid of dying here. Even still, they laugh, they cry and try to live as best they can. I never really thought about it like that before." Kirito said seriously.

Yuga looked at his brother and how insightful that was. "Wow, that was...that was deep, Kazuto."

KNOCK KNOCK

They heard a knock at the door. Kirito closed his menu and Yuga sat up. "Come in." Said Kirito. The door opened and their visitor was revealed to be Sachi in a night gown and a pillow in her hand.

"I'm sorry. I can't seem to get to sleep." She said with an apologetic smile. "Is it okay if I stay here tonight?"

The twins looked at each other for a bit before glancing back to her. "Sure, Sachi, we don't mind." Yuga responded.

"Although, you might want to sleep in my bed, Yuga here has a bad habit of hogging all the covers." Kirito said jokingly, earning a ticked glare from his brother.

"What?! I do not!" Yuga exclaimed.

"Yeah you do."

"Do not!"

"What about the time at that hotel when we went to Kyoto for the festival with mom and Sugu?"

"Uhhh..."

"Or the time we stayed at our grandparent's house?"

"Uhhh..."

"Or all the times when we took naps together as little kids before we got separate beds?"

"...Oh whatever." Yuga said defeated. Kirito just smiled smugly as he reveled in victory.

Sachi just watched in amusement at the twin's shenanigans and could help but chuckle. After some more back and forth banter, the twins and Sachi went to to bed and waited for tomorrow to come.

* * *

_June 12__th__, 2023 * 11__th__ Floor – Taft_

Today was the day. The day that the Moonlit Black Cats were going to get a house of their own. The Black Cats were currently gathered at the warp gate. Keita was tasked with going to get the house while the others were to wait for him so he can take them there and show it to them.

"Okay, I'm heading out guys. Teleport: Town of Beginnings" He bid farewell to his guild mates as he was teleported to his destination.

"Man, can you believe it? I never thought buying a house would be so exciting."

"Dude, you sound like an old man."

The others just giggled at what was said.

"Hey guys, I have an idea." Said Tetsuo. "While Keita is off buying the house, what do you say we go out and raise some extra cash?"

Sachi was already on board with the plan. "Oh yes, then we can buy furniture." Everyone nodded their heads.

"Hey, let's go to a dungeon on a higher floor." Suggested Ducker.

"Not a good idea Ducker. We should stick to our usual hunting spots." Yuga said to the yellow wearing member.

"Oh come on. Up there we can make more and faster." Said Sasamaru.

"Sasamaru's right. Plus with our levels, we got nothing to worry about." Replied Ducker

"I still don't think it's a good idea, guys." Kirito added.

Sasamaru put his hand on the older Kirigaya's shoulder. "Guys, come on. This is a golden opportunity."

Kirito and Yuga just looked at each other with worrisome expressions. Sure the pay would be good if they went to a higher floor but the risk was too great. But they figured if a couple of higher level players like them were around, the others would be safe. So, without much resistance, the twins nodded their heads, earning smiles from the rest of the guild. And with that, they set off for the dungeon.

_June 12__th__, 2023 * 27__th__ Floor – Dungeon_

The Moonlit Black Cats were currently walking in a dungeon on the 27th floor. "See guys. I told you this was gonna be cake. We might even be able to reach the front lines sooner." Sasamaru said with a smile on his face.

"That's what I'm talking about." Added Ducker. "Hey look!" He exclaimed as he gestured to the wall ahead of them. He ran up to the wall and pressed it. The section of the wall glowed and revealed a secret passage, which surprised Kirito and Yuga. Inside the room was a single treasure chest. "A treasure chest!" Exclaimed Ducker happily. The cats smiled in anticipation, but the twins just looked at it suspiciously. As Ducker was about to run in and plunder it, Yuga grabbed his cloak, stopping him in his tracks. Ducker just looked at Yuga confused. "Hey, what are you doing, Yuga?"

Yuga narrowed his eyes on the chest as if he was analyzing it. He watched plenty of movies to know that when a secret room with treasure in it is discovered, once you touch it, booby traps start to go off. He decided he was not taking any chances. "This seems a little too easy. All of you wait here, I'll check it out."

"Yuga-" Kirito tried to say.

"I'll be fine brother. If I need help, I'll holler." He assured with a smile. He then entered the room and continued analyzing the chest. He took out his axe and tapped it a few times. He looked around the room and nothing was happening. He then struck the chest, again nothing happened. Now for the final test, he knelt down to open the chest. He unlocked it and slowly started to open it. Once the lid was a smidgen of the way up, he opened it quickly and flinched away. He opened his eyes and noticed once again that nothing happened. Looking inside the chest, he saw that it was completely filled with col. Breathing a sigh of relief, he signaled the others to come in.

Ducker was the first to run inside. "See, you were just being paranoid." He jokingly said as he head for the chest. The others close behind him as they surrounded the chest. Kirito walked to his brother with a suspicious expression.

"I guess I was worried for nothing, huh Kirito." Yuga asked. Kirito continued to eye the chest.

"I don't think so Yuga. Something in my gut tells me that something bad is about to happen." He said seriously. Kirito had no idea how right he was. As soon as Ducker scooped a large amount of kol, suddenly, an alarm sounded and the whole room was covered in a red light, frightening and confusing almost everyone as they tried to make sense of what was happening. The door suddenly slammed, trapping everyone inside and suddenly the walls started to open and dwarf like creatures wielding pick axes emerged from the them and surrounded the guild. Rock golem like creatures also started to appear.

"Shit! I hate it when I'm right sometimes!" Kirito exclaimed as they got out their weapons to defend themselves.

"This is exactly what I was afraid of. Hurry, let's get the hell out of here!" Yuga exclaimed.

"Don't gotta tell me twice!" Said Ducker as he and the rest of the guild pulled out their warp crystals. "Teleport: Taft!" Ducker shouted, but nothing happened, confusing and frightening him. He tried again and again nothing happened.

"We can't use our crystals!" Exclaimed Sachi.

"The walls are probably whats blocking them!" Deduced Kirito. Suddenly, the creatures guarding the chest moved in on the guild, ready to kill them. "Here they come! Get ready!" Kirito shouted as he started slashing at the creatures.

Ducker was soon knocked down, dropping his warp crystal. He looked up to see he was surrounded by four dwarf creatures and they started attacking him while he was down, not even giving him a chance to try and get back up. He screamed in horror as his HP started dwindle away. Eventually, his HP hit zero, killing him and making explode into polygons.

"DUCKERRRR!" Yuga shouted as he witnessed what happened. He started angrily slicing at the dwarves and golems in an effort to get to the rest of his guild mates and help them out with his brother doing the same.

Soon, Tetsuo suffered the same fate as his guild mate and was killed after being attacked by a golem. "TETSUO! NO!" Shouted Sasamaru as he charged toward the golem that killed his friend. He then trusted his spear into the golem's chest in a vain attempt to avenge Tetsuo, but it was for naught as the same golem struck him down, killing him as well.

""NOOOOO!"" Shouted the twins as they continued to hack and slash their way through the crowd to get to Sachi, who was the only one left. "GET OUT OF OUR WAY!" Yuga demanded as he continued to kill their attackers, a couple managing to get some hits in. Sachi looked to be struggling with her attacker. Seeing this, the brothers charged their way toward her.

"Kirito! Yuga! Help Me!" Sachi shouted as she pushed the golem attacking her away

"SACHI, HANG ON WE'RE COMING!" Shouted Kirito as the two continued their assault, the creatures not giving them a chance to get to Sachi. Kirito and Yuga managed to get rid of the opposing enemies blocking their path and ran to Sachi. Sachi was struck in the back by a golem and was on her hands and knees. She saw a pair of feet in front of her. She looked up to see a dwarf creature holding it's weapon over it's head, ready to deliver the final blow to Sachi. Sachi closed her eyes as she began to cry, unable to stop her impending doom.

CLANG

Sachi opened her eyes to see Yuga standing in front of her and blocking the dwarf's pickaxe with his ax. "YOU. WILL. NOT. TOUCH HERRRRRR!" Yuga roared as he pushed back the creature, who back peddled a few steps. Yuga then let out a yell as he jumped in the air with is ax overhead and brought in down on the creature, bringing the creature's health down to zero and killing it. Yuga shot a death glare at the remaining creatures.

Sachi then heard the golem that attacked her and was once again frozen in fear. As the golem was about to strike, a sword was plunged into it's back and came out it's chest. Kirito had jumped and plunged his sword into the golem. He then pulled it out and delivered a diagonal slash down it's back, killing it. Kirito landed on the ground after killing the golem and looked towards Sachi. While Sachi was relieved to see the twins, she noticed the look of fury in the older twin's eyes and judging from Yuga's tone from earlier, she can only assume that he had the same look. A look that reminded her of a ferocious beast getting ready to tear it's prey apart.

Kirito turned and eyed the remaining creature's on his side of the room. The twin's readied their weapons and activated their respective weapon skills. "RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" With a final yell, they ran towards the creatures and proceeded to slaughter them all. They took several hits from a select few who were lucky enough to get a hit in, but it wasn't enough to deter them and they too fell along with their brethren. Sachi backed up and hugged the wall as she witnessed the onslaught. In all honesty, she didn't know how to feel, relieved that Kirito and Yuga have rescued her or afraid because of how they were acting right now.

After what seemed like an eternity, all the dwarf creatures and golems were killed. Upon their deaths, the door opened. Kirito and Yuga stood still for a few moments before they dropped their weapons and fell to the ground, Yuga fell on his hands and knees while his brother backwards, supporting himself up with his arms. Both were breathing heavily. Sachi continued to have her back to the wall and remained there for a bit. After collecting herself, she got up and walked towards the twins.

"Kirito. Yuga." She said in a low voice. The two boys looked up to see Sachi standing over them.

"Sachi." Kirito said with tears in his eyes.

Yuga looked at her but remained silent as tears threatened to fall from his eyes. "Sachi...we-" Yuga tried to say but was interrupted when she suddenly wrapped both of the twins in a hug, which surprised them. Sachi's eyes were closed as tears were also present in her eyes.

"Kirito, Yuga, please...let's leave this place. Please." Sachi begged.

Kirito and Yuga both nodded as the got back up and helped Sachi up. The twins grabbed their weapons and the three survivors left the dungeon. Kirito held Sachi close to him with Yuga right by their side as they walked in silence all the way back to the tavern. The twins replayed the events of what happened in their minds over and over again. The image of their companions dying one by one was permanently seared into their brains and that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. They may have been able to save Sachi and clear the room all the while leveling up a tad, but in the end, it was a loss.

_June 12__th__, 2023 * 11__th__ Floor – Taft_

Later that night, Sachi was with the twins in their room at the tavern. Sachi sat on Kirito's bed while Kirito sat with Yuga on his bed, one hand to his forehead and right next to him with his face buried in his hands. The silence was nerve racking, so Sachi decided to break it. "Hey, Kirito, Yuga."

""Hmm?"" They both acknowledged.

"Well...I...I never thanked you two...for saving me." She said.

"How could you thank us Sachi?" Yuga asked.

"What?" Sachi asked.

"Sachi, we got you guild mates killed." Kirito responded. "You shouldn't be thanking us, you should be hating us right now."

Sachi's eyes widened in surprise. "Wh-why would you two think that. You couldn't have known that room was going to be a trap."

"No, but we could have prevented it." Yuga retorted.

"What do you mean?"

"Remember when we first joined, that we told you that we were Level 20 just like the rest of you?" Kirito asked, to which Sachi nodded her head. "We lied. Fact of the matter is Yuga and I are 15 levels higher than any of you."

"The truth is Sachi, my brother and I are beaters. Nothing but no good, selfish, beaters. We kept our true levels a secret because we thought you would all hate us." Yuga explained.

"But now after everything that's happened, we realized our foolishness was what got the Moonlit Black Cats killed. If we hadn't hidden our true levels, hell if we never joined in the first place, none of this would be happening."

"You have every right to hate us Sachi. And no one would blame you either. What happened to the others is all our fault. If we hadn't kept our true levels a secret, they would all still be here." Tears formed in Yuga's eyes. "We don't deserve to be here."

"Yeah, we should have died in that dungeon and you and the others should be here right now."

"Don't say that!" Sachi yelled, surprising the twins. She then leaped from the bed and embraced the two in a hug. "Don't say things like that. Don't either of you two ever say such horrible things about yourselves!" She said, tears falling from her eyes.

"Sachi, it's the truth." Yuga replied.

"No, none of this is either of your faults." She looked up to face the brothers, her eyes red and puffy from crying. "Besides, you two saved me. Not to sound selfish or anything, but I'm alive thanks to you two and I couldn't be more grateful. You both promised that you would protect me and you kept your word." She continued to hug the twins. Kirito and Yuga for their part returned the hug. After staying like that for a while, the three decided to call it a night, but not before the twins swore to each other that they will protect and take care of Sachi and no matter what, they were going to beat the game.

* * *

_December 24__th__. 2023 * 49__th__ Floor – Mujen_

Christmas Eve in the game is just like how it is in the real world. The town of Mujen on the 49th floor was decorated for the season and the players were either going around doing some shopping or hanging out with each other for the holiday. Normally it would be a time for cheer for some, but not all. Sitting on a bench near a large Christmas tree sat Kirito alone while his brother and Sachi waited at the inn they booked. The twins had no reason to be merry, what transpired nearly six months ago still plagued their minds. The night after the raid, the twins were trying to figure out a way to explain what happened. Sachi offered to come with them, but they shot her down, saying it was their fault what happened and they had to be the ones to bite the bullet.

The two managed to run into Keita, who had the keys to their new house and was eager to show it to the rest of the guild. When he asked where everyone was, Kirito and Yuga told them what happened and the Sachi was the only survivor. After explaining the situation, Keita was shocked. The Kirigayas apologized at great length but Keita didn't respond. After standing in silence for what seemed like an eternity, Keita started walking towards the edge of the town. The twins knew then what he was planning. They tried to stop him, but it was no use as he jumped down into the abyss, killing himself. Before dying, he asked the twins to take care of Sachi. With his death, even though Sachi was the only survivor, The Moonlit Black Cats were officially finished.

The twins blamed themselves for what happened and swore that they would do whatever it took to clear the game, so the three started training, killing monsters, and getting stronger so that an incident like what happened to their former guild would never happen again. Within six months, they had gone up 30 levels and became some of the strongest players in the game with Sachi not too far behind them. Right now they were in Mujen to meet up with an info broker. Apparently in their travels they heard a rumor of an item that can supposedly bring back a dead player and that the monster that dropped it would appear tonight and they were there to confirm the rumor. Upon hearing about the item, the twins decided that they would try to bring back Keita, hoping to redeem themselves for at least one of their screw ups.

After some waiting, a hooded girl with green hair, purple eyes and what looked like whisker marks on her cheeks approached the older Kirigaya twin. This was one of Aincrad's info brokers; Argo the Rat. She had a reputation as one of the best info brokers in the game and for the right price, her information could be yours.

"I hear that some people have been taking risks with their level raising as of late." She greeted trying to lighten the mood with no success.

"You have anything for us or what, Argo?"

"Well, nothing worth charging you money for." She answered as she leaned against the bench.

"Tch! You give info brokers a bad name." Kirito scoffed.

"Hey man, this wasn't in the Beta Test, it's a first time event. How am I supposed to know what's gonna happen? Come on, cut me some slack." Argo said somewhat offended at what Kirito said to her. "Look, all I know is that tonight, on Christmas Eve, the event boss is gonna appear. He's called Nicholas the Renegade and he's gonna show up under a fir tree somewhere. The major guilds are searching everywhere for the tree even as we speak." Kirito, having heard enough, got up from the bench, making Argo look at them. "You, your brother, or that girl wouldn't happen to know where it is, would ya?"

"Maybe." Responded Kirito as he started to walk away.

"Hey, are you thinking about going at it with just the three of you?" She asked, but Kirito just ignored her as he continued his walk through the town to the inn they he and his brother were staying at.

After getting back to the inn, Kirito explained what he had heard to Argo and the three prepped themselves for their fight against the boss. Kirito equipped a different sword and coat with a fur collar while Yuga sported a longer version of his Hunter's Shroud and a new ax. Sachi put on a long light blue winter coat with a fur collar with matching boots and equipped a sword and shield. Yuga looked at his brother. "So do you really think this item exists?"

"There's only one way to find out. If there really is an opportunity to bring back a dead player, we have to take it." Responded Kirito.

"But, this mission could be dangerous." Sachi said nervously. "I mean, there's a good chance that...we can die."

Yuga went up to Sachi and put a hand on her shoulder. "Sachi, none of us are going to die."

"But you are right Sachi, this will be very dangerous. You're free to stay here while we go, we won't hold it against you." Kirito added.

Sachi shook her head and adopted a determined expression. "No, I'm not going to let you two go at this alone. Where you go, I go with you."

The twins nodded their heads seriously. "Alright, but remember, if things get bad or if anything happens to us, we want to you run as far away as you can, you understand?" Kirito said.

"But-"

"Sachi don't argue with us." Yuga interrupted. "We mean it, anything happens to us, you run. You run fast, you run far, and you don't look back. Got it?"

"...I understand." Sachi replied reluctantly.

Kirito then sat up from the bed and addressed his brother and Sachi. "Alright then. Now if we're ready, we got a monster to slay and an item to retrieve." Yuga and Sachi both nodded their heads and adopted serious expressions on their faces. The three then left the inn and headed for the warp gate in the town.

_35th-Floor – Forest of Wandering_

The twins and Sachi were currently running in the forest to find the fir tree where Nicholas the Renegade would appear. They ran towards what appeared to be the tallest fir tree in the forest. As they approached it, a flash of light caught their attention. It was revealed to be Klein and his guild who had just teleported to the same location as the brothers.

"What's up Kirito, Yuga." Klein greeted the twins. "It's been a while hasn't it?"

"Indeed it has." Responded Yuga. "Sorry, we've been busy lately."

Klein then saw Sachi with them and couldn't help but smirk deviously. "Yeah, I can see that." He said jokingly.

"It's not what you think Klein. We were in the same guild as hers. It's a long story, one we don't want to talk about." Kirito replied.

"Sachi, Klein and his guild." Yuga motioned to Klein and his guild. "Klein and his guild, Sachi."

"H-hello." Sachi greeted shyly as she waved to them, which they did back.

"Anyway, what are you doing here, did you follow us?" Kirito asked.

"Well, duh! You guys are after the revival item, right? And I'm guessing Sachi there is along for the ride?"

"We are Klein. And also Sachi came with us of her own free will." Answered Yuga.

"Come on, don't go risking your lives on some rumor that could turn out to be bogus."

"Klein, this is something we have to do. Please, just stay out of the way." Demanded Yuga.

Klein was shocked to hear that. "Guys, come on! You can't be messing around in this death game. Once you're HP hits zero, that's it. In the real world, you're brain gets-"

"We are aware of what happens, Klein." Interrupted Kirito.

Klein just gritted his teeth. "Look, I'm trying to get you guys to stop with all you're soloing. Come on, join up with us. Whoever gets the item to drop keeps it. No hard feelings. That's fair, isn't it?" He suggested, but the twins both shook their heads.

"We can't Klein. Like Yuga said, we have to do this ourselves. We have our own reasons for wanting it" Kirito responded, causing Klein to grit his teeth in anger at their recklessness.

"Guys, think about what you're doing. It's freaking suicide, and I'm not going to stand by and watch my friends die like that." Klein said when suddenly multiple flashes of light appeared around them. Out of the flashes, multiple people wearing silver armor or silver clothing, all with their weapons equipped surrounded them.

"Looks like you guys were followed too. Huh, Klein?" Kirito said as he, Sachi and Yuga prepared to draw their weapons.

"Yeah, sure looks like it." Klein replied as he drew his sword.

"It's the Holy Dragon Alliance." One of Klein's guild mates said.

"They'll do anything for a rare item, no matter how shady." Another added.

"So what do we do?"

The twins gritted their teeth at the hindrance. They didn't have time to deal with these guys. They had to get to the tree and quick. "Kirito, Yuga, Sachi, get out of here!" Klein shouted as he got into a battle stance, shocking the twins.

"No way, Klein!" Responded Kirito.

"We're not leaving you all to take these guys alone." Added Yuga.

Klein just smirked as his guild mates all readied themselves for battle. "Don't worry. Leave them to us. We can hold them off. Besides, didn't you say this is something you guys have to do?"

Sachi then walked to Klein and stood by his side. The twins were surprised to see this and so was Klein. "Sachi, what are you doing?" Yuga asked.

"I'll stay and help them." She looked back to the twins. "Don't worry about me. I know I said I would go with you two, but I want to at least do my part in helping other people."

"Sachi." Kirito said.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. You two go get the item. But you two better come back alive." Sachi said determined.

The twins nodded their heads and were about ready to head off, but not before Kirito looked to Klein. "Klein." The swordsman looked to his friend. "You better keep her safe, you hear me?!" Kirito asked seriously.

Klein grinned confidently at the two. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to her." he declared.

"We mean it Klein, anything happens to Sachi on your watch, you guys are next on our hit list, right beneath Kayaba." Yuga added with a cold tone.

"Don't worry, we'll protect her with our lives. You have our word." One member of Klein's guild said as the others nodded their heads. The twins returned the nod.

"Well, what are you two waiting for? You got an item to get right?" Klein said. "Well then get going you two."

""Right!"" They shouted as they turned around and continued their way towards the fir tree. Once they got to the tree, they heard a bell chiming and what sounded like sleigh bells coming from above them. They looked up to see what looked like a sleigh flying in the sky and someone dropping from it. Suddenly, a giant, monstrous version of Santa Claus with pale blue skin and red glowing eyes and wielding an ax stood before them. He had four health bars and the name Nicholas the Renegade appeared above him. The twins readied themselves for combat.

The brothers eyed the monster with serious expressions. "You ready, Yuga?" Kirito asked his brother.

Yuga readied his ax in anticipation. "Let's kill this sucker." He responded, getting a nod from his brother. The brothers screamed as they charged towards the giant Santa Monster as it charged towards them.

* * *

Back with Sachi. Klein and his guild, they managed to keep the Holy Dragon Alliance at bay and get them to run. Weapons lay scattered on the ground as Sachi, Klein and his guild mates rested, weary from the battle.

"Whoo man! That was intense!" Klein exclaimed as he breathed heavily.

"I know." Sachi replied. "Guess I got my work out for the month."

Klein looked to Sachi and couldn't help but be curious about her. "Hey so...Kirito and Yuga said you guys used to be in the same guild right?" He asked.

"Yeah...we were." Sachi replied with a saddened expression.

"So, what happened, did the guild break up or something?" Klein asked. Sachi didn't respond as Klein noticed the saddened look in her eyes. After a moment, he figured out what the twins meant and widened his eyes in realization. "Oh...I see. I-I'm sorry. I didn't know." He said apologetically.

Sachi shook her head. "It's alright, there's no way you could have."

Just the a flash of light caught Klein's attention. It was revealed to be the Kirigaya brothers coming out of the portal, having returned from their bout with Nicholas the Renegade. Klein of course was happy to see his friends and that they had survived and they had retrieved what looked to be the revival item.

Sachi saw the twins and a sense of relief washed over her. "Kirito! Yuga!" She exclaimed happily as she ran towards the twins and embraced the two in a hug with happy tears in her eyes. "I'm so glad you two made it back alive." Sachi let go of them and faced them. "So did you-" She was interrupted when she saw the blank and hollow looks on their faces. "What? What's wrong." They didn't say anything as they continued to walk towards Klein.

"Kirito! Yuga! Hey, you-" Klein said happily until he saw their faces and suddenly his smile disappeared as he noticed the brothers looked to have blank and hollow looks on their faces. They had the look that while they may have been victorious, they had suffered a horrible defeat. Kirito, who was holding the item, suddenly tossed it to Klein, who caught it, but was confused as to why he did it. Sachi had the same confused look on her face.

"There. That's the revival item." Kirito said blankly.

Klein looked at the item and brought up it's description. "Let's see, it says 'must be administered to affected player...WITHIN 10 SECONDS'!" He exclaimed in shock before he looked back at the brothers. Sachi adopted the same shocked expression.

"If someone dies in front of you some day, make sure you use it, alright." Yuga said blankly as he and his brother turned to head back to the inn. "Come on Sachi." Sachi did as she was told and joined the brothers.

"Wait." Klein grabbed both brothers by their waists, stopping them in their tracks. "Kirito. Yuga. Sachi. Listen...stay alive, you hear? I don't care what you do or how you do it. Just stay alive...to the end." Klein begged as he cried and let them go before he fell to his knees.

"See ya." Kirito bid to the samurai as the three headed back to town. The three were silent the whole way back. No one said a word and the tension was heavy. Sachi couldn't bear to see her friends in such a state.

'I have to say something. Just seeing them like this is breaking my heart.' Just as she was about to say something, Kirito beat her to the punch.

"We're sorry Sachi."

"Huh?" Sachi inquired. "You're sorry, for what."

"There was indeed a revival item, but it was too late to bring back Keita." Kirito responded.

"We thought that if we brought back Keita, we could somehow redeem ourselves for our mistake of getting his guild killed in the first place." Yuga said.

"And we also thought that if we brought him back, it would at least offer you some comfort knowing that someone else in your guild was still around." Kirito added.

"Kirito. Yuga." Sachi soon had tears in her eyes.

"If you wish to leave when we get back to town, we wouldn't blame you." Kirito added.

"Stop it." Sachi responded softly.

"This proves it Sachi. Kirito and I...we're poison. We bring suffering to everyone who gets around us. This must be a sign, that maybe we are just meant to spend the remainder of our days alone and ultimately...end up dying alone." Yuga added.

Hearing that was the final straw for Sachi as she burst into tears and stopped walking. "PLEASE STOP!" She yelled.

The twins stopped walking and looked towards her. Sachi then ran and embraced the two in a tight warm hug. With how tight the hug was, the twins felt like Sachi was never going to let them go. "Don't say things like that! You two aren't poison! Don't you ever think that you two are something so horrible!" She said inbetween sobs as tears continued to fall. "I don't care if you two are beaters and I don't blame either of you for what happened to the Moonlit Black Cats!. You two are my best friends and the two of you are so very precious to me. Please...just seeing you two like this...it breaks my heart."

"Sachi." Kirito said.

"Please...promise me. Promise me that we're going to beat this game together and we're going to go back to the real world. Please." Gravity got the better of them and they were on their knees in the snow. After a couple of seconds, the twins embraced Sachi in their own hug.

"We will Sachi. We're going to beat this game. We promise you that." Kirito said.

"And we swear to God, we're going to go back to the real world and see all our loved ones again. One way or another, we are getting out of this hell." Yuga added.

The three continued to hug each other with comforting smiles on their faces. "Thank you. Both of you." Sachi said gratefully. "I don't care what anyone says about you two, you two are my best friends in the world, and being with both of you make me so incredibly happy."

The three said nothing as they continued to embrace each other as the snow continued to fall. After a few moments of silence, Yuga spoke. "Merry Christmas, Sachi."

"Merry Christmas, Kirito, Yuga." Sachi responded softly.

"It's getting late, let's head back to the inn." Kirito said.

"Okay." With that, the twins helped Sachi back up and the three walked together back to Mujen with Sachi walking closely in the middle of the twins. The quest to get the item may not have panned out the way they thought it would, but at the very least, Sachi was still alive and with them and that she would stick by them no matter what happened, even if they were beaters. And to the twins that was a win in their books. Yuga even thought that this a big middle finger to Kayaba. Kayaba's death game may have taken the lives of the Moonlit Black Cats, but this was one win neither he or his brother will allow Kayaba the satisfaction of having.

Back at the inn, Kirito and Sachi had gone to bed while Yuga decided to stay up for a bit longer. After doodling around in his menu for a bit, he closed it and looked back to Sachi and his brother. Seeing the two of them sleeping so soundly brought him some peace of mind. But Yuga knew that they were going to need some help to beat the game. Yuga had an idea and was going to pitch it to his brother, but decided to wait a few days before he would. For now, they would enjoy the moments of peace they have been given.

It was nearing midnight and Yuga decided to hit the sack. Right when Yuga was about to turn in, he heard a noise indicating he had a message. He looked to and was surprised to see the header saying it was a gift box from Sachi. "From Sachi? What's this?" He asked. He looked towards Sachi, who was still sound asleep. He looked back to the message and opened it. Immediately afterwards, a green prism shaped object appeared in his hands. He recognized it as a recording device. He pressed the button, causing the device to glow and the message began to play.

'Merry Christmas, Kirito and Yuga. By the time you two hear this, I'll probably be dead.' Yuga was surprised to hear that. 'How can I explain this? Let's see...to tell you the truth, I never really wanted to leave the Town of Beginnings. And I knew if I fought with an attitude like that, I would end up dying someday. But that's not anyone's fault, that's something I have to deal with. Kirito, Yuga, ever since that night you found me, you kept telling that I wasn't going to die, no matter what. But what if I got killed anyway? I knew that if I died, you both would curse and blame yourselves. So that's why I decided to record this for the both of you. Think of it as...an insurance policy."

"By the way, I knew how powerful you two really are. Sorry, I sorta peeked when you weren't looking. I wondered why you weren't telling the truth about what level player you were. I wondered why you both decided to fight with us, but I never figured it out though. You know what? When I found out how strong you two were, I don't know, it made me so happy. I felt relieved. So even if I die, promise me that you'll both go on living, alright? Stay alive so you can see the end of this world and find out why it was created. Find out why a weakling like me ended up here. Find out the reason you and I met. Please...that's what I wish."

Yuga's eyes began to tear up. 'Sachi.'

"Looks like I still have some time so, seeing how it's Christmas and everything, I'll sing you both a song." Sachi then started to hum the lyrics for the first part of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Hearing it made Yuga's eyes start to tear up. 'Anyway, Kirito, Yuga, I'm so glad that I met the both of you and that I could be with you both, even for a little while. So thank you and goodbye.' With that said, the device stopped glowing to show the recording was over and fell onto the table.

Yuga covered his face with one hand as he started to cry tears of happiness. He looked towards Sachi and still had a smile on his face. 'Oh Sachi.' He thought 'I'm glad Kirito and I were able to save you. If you were gone...I don't what we would have done. So thank you, for sticking with us despite the circumstances.' His face soon became serious. 'But, I swear to you here and now, we will fulfill Keita's last wish and take care of you. We will protect you with our dying breaths.' Seeing Sachi shift in her sleep made Yuga smile again. He leaned down close enough to be by her face. "Merry Christmas Sachi." He said softly. He then looked to his brother. "And Merry Christmas to you Kazuto."

Yuga then went to the window and looked toward the sky as he put a hand on the window. He had one last thing to say and to the two people in his life that really mattered; his mother and sister, Suguha. "Merry Christmas Mom, Sugu. We love you both and miss you so much." He said as more tears fell from his face. After staring out the window for a few moments, he finally went to bed.

**Hey y'all. I decided to try and rewrite this chapter because I've gotten a few complaints about it with Sachi dying and that it was too close to the canon. So I managed to let Sachi survive and now she and the twins had their Christmas quest. I admit, this was a bit of a challenge but I think I managed to make it work. Let me know what you all think and let me know what I can do to fix it. Now from here, I am also going to move some chapters around. Yuga is still going to start up the mercenary guild and Sachi will be a member as well seeing as how she had gotten stronger in the months after the destruction of the Moonlit Black Cats. The forming of the guild will be next chapter while the twins meeting Silica will be the one after that. The rest of the story will follow the canon a bit, but I will find a way to add my own elements to the story. If any of you want to give your input, pleas do so, all input is welcome as is any criticism, just nothing too mean please. Anyway, next time on The Black Swordsman and The Gray Huntsman Chapter 3: The Mercenary Guild. I'll have it out in the next few days, like I said, work has been keeping me busy but thank you all for your patience and look forward to more on this and my other stories. Til then, TTFN, ta ta for now.**


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